THE HIGH PREVALENCE OF DIABETES-MELLITUS AND HYPERINSULINEMIA AMONG THE JAPANESE-AMERICANS LIVING IN HAWAII AND LOS-ANGELES

A comparative epidemiologic investigation was conducted among Japanese immigrants and their offspring living in Hawaii and the Los Angeles a rea, and among Japanese living in Hiroshima. All subjects received an oral glucose tolerance test and the diagnosis of diabetes was made on the basis of WHO criteria. In the subjects aged 40 years or older, the age, sex, and obesity-specific prevalence of diabetes was 2-3 times h igher among Japanese living in America than those in Hiroshima. The fa sting and post-glucose load serum immunoreactive insulin concentration s were higher in the Japanese-Americans compared to the Hiroshima inha bitants with the same degree of obesity and glucose tolerance. We sugg est that a westernized lifestyle induces peripheral insulin resistance and promotes the development of diabetes among Japanese.