ANTHROPOMETRICAL ANTECEDENTS OF NON-INSULIN-DEPENDENT DIABETES-MELLITUS - AN AGE AND SEX MATCHED COMPARISON STUDY OF ANTHROPOMETRIC INDEXESIN SCHOOLCHILDREN FROM A HIGH PREVALENCE PORT-MORESBY COMMUNITY

Anthropometrical indices of 66 school children aged between 7 and 9 ye ars from a community with a very high prevalence of non-insulin depend ent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) were compared with those of age and sex matched school children from two low prevalence communities. Two way a nalysis of variance indicated that case children of both sexes were si gnificantly lighter (P<0.001), shorter (P<0.001) and had lower body ma ss indices (BMI) (P < 0.001) than their comparisons but had greater tr iceps skinfold thickness (TSFT) (P = 0.01). These differences may be a reflection of subtle changes in metabolism in children destined: with out intervention, to develop NIDDM. Anthropometrical indices may there fore have a role to play in the prediction of future disease. Although not the prime objective of the study, an analysis of available birth weights indicated a lower mean birth weight for the cases than the con trols (difference of means, 0.35 kg; 95% confidence intervals (CI95%), 0.13-0.57). This finding is consistent with the theory that impaired intrauterine growth may predispose to NIDDM. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.