LOWER PREVALENCE OF IMPAIRED GLUCOSE-TOLERANCE AND DIABETES-ASSOCIATED WITH DAILY SEAL OIL OR SALMON CONSUMPTION AMONG ALASKA NATIVES

OBJECTIVE - To examine the association of seal oil and salmon consumpt ion With impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and non-insulin-dependent di abetes mellitus (NIDDM) among Alaska Natives. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METH ODS - Screening was performed on 666 Yup'ik Eskimos and Athabaskan Ind ians greater than or equal to 40 years old in 15 villages. Self-admini stered questionnaires were used to obtain partial food frequency data. A case was defined as IGT or NIDDM, either newly discovered or known. Newly discovered cases (11 patients with NIDDM and 17 with IGT) were determined by random blood glucose testing followed by a 2-h 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) for those with values greater than or e qual to 6.72 mmol/l or for subjects with unconfirmed histories of gluc ose intolerance. Known cases included 26 patients with NIDDM and 1 wit h IGT. Control subjects had random blood glucoses <6.72 or normal OGTT results. RESULTS - Compared with less-than-daily consumption, both da ily seal oil (odds ratio [OR] 0.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.1-0. 8) and daily salmon consumption (OR 0.5, CI 0.2-1.1) were associated w ith a lower prevalence of glucose intolerance, controlling for age, et hnicity, body mass index, and sex. The effects were similar when limit ed to newly discovered cases: OR 0.3, CI 0.1-1.3 for seal oil and OR 0 .4, CI 0.1-1.3 for salmon. Consumption of seal oil at least five limes per week was required to reduce risk. CONCLUSIONS - Consumption of se al oil and salmon, high in omega-3 fatty acids, appears to lower the r isk of glucose intolerance and is a potentially modifiable risk factor for NIDDM in Alaska Natives.