Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have higher rates of diabetes than whites, and are prone to developing Type 2 diabetes at younger ages and lower body weights than the general U.S. population. Among Asian subgroups, the risk of diabetes is especially high among South Asians, Filipinos and Pacific Islanders.
So you may not think you're at risk (and your doctor may not think you are either!). But as a person of Asian descent, you may have less muscle and more fat than other groups and can develop diabetes at a younger age and lower body weight. That extra body fat tends to be in your belly (visceral fat).
Furthermore, these data on diabetes incidence also suggest that South Asians have a higher diabetes risk than other ethnic populations, and normal-weight South Asians have higher risk than normal-weight people of other ethnic groups, including white, black and Pima Indians.
The new variants associated with type 2 diabetes in people of East Asian descent include several near to genes involved in skeletal muscle, pancreatic functions and alcohol metabolism, and in genes linked to higher levels of fat within the abdomen.
The prevalence of diabetes has been on the rise in Japan in recent years. The increase can be ascribed to a sedentary lifestyle and increased fat consumption. Although obesity rates are lower in Japan than in the West, it is estimated that more than 12 million Japanese have high sugar levels.
Diabetes rates vary greatly around the world. Pakistan has the highest diabetes rate at 30.8%, followed by Kuwait at 24.9%, and Nauru, New Caledonia, and the Northern Mariana Islands, all at 23.4%. On the other hand, countries with the lowest diabetes rates include Eritrea, Somalia, and Guinea-Bissau, all below 1%.
What you may not know is that ethnicity also plays a major role. That's right. African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, and some Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans are all at higher risk for type 2 diabetes than Caucasians, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA).
South Asians are at higher risk for Type 2 diabetes, up to four times higher than other ethnic groups probably due to a combination of genetics and environment. Recent studies have shown that South Asian diets high in refined ("bad") carbohydrates are associated with diabetes risk factors.
As per IDF 2021 estimates, 11 million adults in Japan have diabetes. The high prevalence of diabetes is associated with a significant economic burden and can be attributed to lifestyle changes and increased longevity. This article highlights the current scenario of diabetes in Japan with insights from Dr.
Meanwhile, African nations like Benin and The Gambia recorded the lowest prevalence of diabetes in the world. In 2021, African countries had a combined total of 23.6 million adults with diabetes, less than 2% of the continent's population.
The prevalence of diabetes is highest among Native Americans (33%) and lowest among Alaska natives (5.5%; Table 1). NHWs and Asian Americans have similar prevalence rates of 7.1% and 8.4%, respectively, where NHBs and Hispanic Americans overall have higher prevalence rates of 11.8% and 12.6%, respectively.
Overweight, obesity, and physical inactivity
You are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes if you are not physically active and are overweight or have obesity. Extra weight sometimes causes insulin resistance and is common in people with type 2 diabetes.
They estimated each serving per day of white rice was associated with an 11% increase in risk of diabetes, which may help explain why the association was even stronger in Asia, where they eat much more rice. This could explain why China has almost the same diabetes rates as we do.
In addition, 32 percent of Asian Americans have pre-diabetes, which means that one in two Asian Americans you meet may have diabetes or at risk of having diabetes. The higher rate of type 2 diabetes in Asian descents results from a combination of genetic and environmental influences.
In general, Asians have more fats within their abdomen and less muscles. This type of body composition would lead to insulin resistance or the body responding poorer to the actions of insulin. Therefore, Asians are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes at a lower body mass index.
So, the combination of a genetic predisposition and an unhealthy lifestyle contributes to the high rates of type 2 diabetes in Indigenous Australians.
This deep type of fat is called visceral fat and is a known diabetes risk factor. Visceral fat is common in South Asian people and “makes our tissues very resistant to insulin,” she said.
Down syndrome occurs in all races and ethnicities; there may be differences in the prevalence of elective termination by U.S. region, race, ethnicity, and maternal age, but the actual differences in live birth prevalence are small.
If you have a mother, father, sister, or brother with diabetes, you are more likely to get diabetes yourself. You are also more likely to have prediabetes. Talk to your doctor about your family health history of diabetes.
Men are almost twice as likely to develop type 2 diabetes as women. Having overweight or obesity is considered a primary risk factor for diabetes. However, obesity rates are similar between men and women in the U.S. This suggests that the relationship between sex, weight, and diabetes may be more nuanced.
The updated prevalence estimate of diabetes among Chinese adults (12.4%) was higher than a global estimate (8.3% in 2019)10 and an estimate for India (6.7% in 2016),4 but lower than in the US (14.6% in 2018)3 and South Korea (13.7% in 2016).
There's no cure yet, but our scientists are working on a ground-breaking weight management study, to help people put their type 2 diabetes into remission. Remission is when blood glucose (or blood sugar) levels are in a normal range again. This doesn't mean diabetes has gone for good.
– Diabetes care forerunners such as Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark have a strong fundament for screening, registration and follow up for diabetes cases, explains Dr. Bjornberg, head of HCP Index research. Fewer people fall between chairs and risk having complications.