title: The prevalence of diabetes, hypertension and obesity among immigrants from East Africa and the former Soviet Union: a retrospective comparative 30-year cohort study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous studies have reported an increasing prevalence of metabolic abnormalities in immigrants who moved from low-cardiovascular-risk regions to Western countries, but little is known about time trends following immigration.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective cohort study of immigrants from Ethiopia in east Africa (EAI), the former Soviet Union (FSUI) and native-born Israelis (NBI) over a 35-year period. EAI were divided into three groups by date of immigration. Associations between ethnicity, age, sex and metabolic risk factors were assessed using logistic regression models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study included 58,901 individuals (20,768 EAI, 20,507 FSUI, and 17,626 NBI). The multivariate odds ratios (OR) for diabetes were 2.4 (95 % CI 2.1-2.6), 2.1 (95 % CI 1.9-2.2) and 1.5 (95 % CI 1.3-1.7), respectively, for the three waves of EAI immigrations (P < 0.001 for trend) and 1.1 (95 % CI 0.9-1.2) for FSUI. For hypertension, the corresponding ORs were 1.8 (95 % CI 1.6-1.9), 1.4 (95 % CI 1.3-1.5), and 1.1 (95 % CI 0.9-1.2), respectively (P < 0.001) for EAI, and 2.1 (95 % CI 1.9-2.2) for FSUI. For obesity the ORs were -0.5 (95 % CI 0.4-0.6), 0.5 (95 % CI 0.4-0.6), and 0.3 (95 % CI 0.2-0.3), respectively (P < 0.001) for EAI, and 1.2 (95 % CI 1.1-1.3) for FSUI. The prevalence of diabetes in NBI with a BMI of 30 was identical to a BMI of 23.4 for EAI and 28.9 for FSUI.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of diabetes and hypertension was higher in EAI and increased over the years, despite a lower prevalence of obesity. It exceeded the prevalence rates in NBI.
authors.affiliation: Division of Community Health, Department of Family Medicine and Siaal Research Center for Family Medicine and Primary Care, Faculty of Health Science, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, PO Box 653, 84150, Beer-sheva, Israel. yonatanr@post.bgu.ac.il.
authors.forename: Yonatan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Reuven
authors.affiliation: Division of Community Health, Department of Family Medicine and Siaal Research Center for Family Medicine and Primary Care, Faculty of Health Science, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, PO Box 653, 84150, Beer-sheva, Israel.|Hospital Division, Clalit Health Services, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Jacob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dreiher
authors.affiliation: Division of Community Health, Department of Family Medicine and Siaal Research Center for Family Medicine and Primary Care, Faculty of Health Science, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, PO Box 653, 84150, Beer-sheva, Israel.|Southern District, Clalit Health Services, Beer-sheva, Israel.
authors.forename: Pesach
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Shvartzman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000351:Africa, Eastern / Q000453:epidemiology; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000208:ethnology*; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000208:ethnology*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000208:ethnology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014586:USSR / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Body-mass index; Cardiovascular-risk factors; Diabetes; East African immigrants; Ethiopian immigrants; Ethnicity; Former Soviet Union immigrants