Ethnicity and sex are strong determinants of diabetes in an urban Western society: implications for prevention

In the age group 30–59 years, mean BMI was 28.5 (95% CI: 27.5–29.6) for South Asian women, 26.1 (25.9–26.4) for Western women, 26.7 (26.1–27.4) for South Asian men and 27.2 (26.9–27.5) for Western men. The diabetes prevalence rates were 27.5% (18.1–36.9) for South Asian women, 2.9% (1.9–3.4) for Western women, 14.3% (8.0–20.7) for South Asian men and 5.9% (4.2–7.5) for Western men. The age-adjusted odds ratio (OR) for diabetes for women vs men was 1.9 (0.9–4.1) for South Asians, and 0.4 (0.3–0.6) for the Western population (p<0.001). The age-adjusted OR for diabetes for South Asians vs Westerners was 11.0 (5.8–21.1) for women and 3.0 (1.6–5.4) for men, and after adjustment for WHR the ORs were 7.7 (3.9–15.3) for women and 2.6 (1.4–4.9) for men. After additional adjustments for physical activity, education, body height and fertility for women, the OR was 6.0 (2.3–15.4) for women and 1.9 (0.9–4.0) for men.