title: Diabetes risk assessment in Mexicans and Mexican Americans: effects of parental history of diabetes are modified by adiposity level.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Parental diabetes history is a well-known risk factor for type 2 diabetes and considered strong evidence for a genetic basis of type 2 diabetes. Whether this relationship is affected by other known risk factors, specifically obesity, remains unclear, possibly due to a relative paucity of lean diabetic patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  This issue was investigated using data from a high-risk population from Mexico (National Health Survey 2000, n = 27,349), with observations replicated using U.S. citizens of Mexican descent from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001-2002 and 2003-2004 (n = 1,568).
  
  
  RESULTS
  As expected, positive parental diabetes was a significant risk factor for type 2 diabetes, regardless of age, sex, or adiposity level. However, positive parental diabetes conferred greater risk in leaner individuals than in their overweight peers (P = 0.001). In other words, the effect of BMI on type 2 diabetes risk was smaller in the presence of parental diabetes history.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that parental diabetes is a stronger risk factor for type 2 diabetes in the absence of obesity. Thus, studies in lean diabetic patients could help identify type 2 diabetes susceptibility genes. This study reinforces the concept that parental diabetes and BMI are independent type 2 diabetes risk factors and suggests that glycemic screening may be helpful in assessing type 2 diabetes risk in individuals with parental diabetes history, regardless of their overweight status.
authors.affiliation: Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Hector E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Velasco Mondragon
authors.forename: R William
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Charlton
authors.forename: Tasha
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Peart
authors.forename: Ana I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Burguete-Garcia
authors.forename: Mauricio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hernandez-Avila
authors.forename: Wen-Chi
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Hsueh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017058:Mexican Americans / Q000235:genetics; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications; D010290:Parents; D012307:Risk Factors