Filipino women at high risk for diabetes

March 2002

Findings from the first U.S. study on the health status of Filipino women reveals that Filipinas are at risk of adult onset of Type II diabetes.

The results are published in the March 2002 issue of Diabetes Care, the medical journal of the American Diabetes Association.

Between 1995 and 1999, a total of 454 Filipinas from San Diego County joined the University of California San Diego (UCSD) Filipina Women's Health Study. The study was conducted to measure the rate of osteoporosis, heart disease, hypertension and diabetes among Filipinas and to identify risk factors for these conditions. One of the most alarming findings is that one out of every three (36 percent) Filipinas had diabetes, compared to one in 11 (95) among Caucasian women.

Among Filipinas with diabetes, more than half (60 percent) did not know they had diabetes. Their condition may have continued to be undiagnosed if they had not joined the study, or if their doctors had not screened them for diabetes.

Diabetes is often associated with being overweight or obese, yet 90 percent of the Filipinas with diabetes were not obese. Although Filipina and Caucasian participants had similar body size, education and physical activity, the risk of diabetes was significantly higher among Filipinas.

Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, limb amputations, and is associated with an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. The pancreas (which produces insulin) is not able to to function properly when an individual has a lot of abdominal fat (fat stomach).

Abdominal fat was the only factor associated with diabetes among Caucasian women, similar to observations in other ethnic groups. However, abdominal fat was not associated with diabetes among Filipinas --high blood pressure and high cholesterol were the only factors associated with diabetes among Filipino women.

According to Dr. Barrett-Connor of the UCSD, the UCSD Filipina Women's Health Study was initiated in 1995 after she observed that many Filipino veterans at the Veterans Administration Hospital had amputated limbs as a result of diabetes. Dr. Maria Rosario Araneta, lead author of the study, recommends, "these findings should serve as a warning to the Filipino community. Filipinas with diabetes are generally not obese, unlike other ethnic groups at high risk for diabetes. Therefore, it is important that Filipinas 45 years or older request a diabetes test from their doctor particularly if they have a parent or sibling with diabetes, are overweight, not physically active, have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, polycystic ovary syndrome, or had diabetes during pregnancy."

If diabetes is detected, the doctor should monitor the progression of the disease, provide education and referrals for nutritional counselling. Other things that can be done to prevent the effects of diabetes are to exercise 30 minutes a day, eat five servings of fruits and vegetables per day, and avoid foods high in fat. Those not diagnosed with diabetes should also heed this advice as a preventive measure.