The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #55888

Maria Rosario G. Araneta, PhD, Deborah L Wingard, PhD, and Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, MD. Dept of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0607, (858) 822-3559, haraneta@ucsd.edu

Background: Filipina-Americans have elevated diabetes prevalence despite the absence of obesity. In other immigrants, diabetes and obesity increase with acculturation.

Objective: To determine the relationship between anthropometric markers and proportion of life years (PLY) in the US among 40-86 year old Filipinas. PLY reflects age at and years since immigration.

Methods: Weight, height, waist and hip girth, total and truncal fat (dual x-ray energy absorptiometry), and diabetes (oral glucose tolerance test) were measured in 443 Filipina immigrants in 1995-99.

Results: Filipinas in the highest PLY tertile were significantly younger, younger at immigration, lived in the US longer, had fewer children, were more educated, used estrogen, exercised, gained more weight since age 25, and had smaller waist:hip ratios. However, diabetes, obesity, waist girth, BMI, total fat and truncal fat did not differ by PLY tertiles. Further, waist:hip ratio did not differ by PLY tertile when adjusted for age, parity, estrogen use, exercise, and education. Prior exposure to western lifestyle during Spanish and US colonization, or other unidentified factors, might explain the absence of an obesity and immigration association.

	<16% PLY	16-42.2% PLY	>42.3% PLY
	n=148	n=148	n=148	p-value
Age	59.9	59.8	53.8	<0.001
Diabetes	32.5%	35.1%	23.1%	0.309
Exercise (3x/wk)	58.9%	65.4%	73.6%	0.040
Obese (BMI>30kg/m2)	6.7%	12.1%	10.9%	0.146
BMI (kg/m2)	24.9	25.4	25.7	0.077
Waist (cm)	80.6	81.1	80.7	0.644
Waist:hip	0.847	0.837	0.825	0.004
Body fat (DXA)	33.3	33.0	33.5	0.809
Truncal fat (DXA)	31.1	30.5	31.2	0.464
Lbs gained since age 25	19.9	23.6	29.7	<0.001

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to:
• Identify that Filipina-Americans have elevated prevalence of type 2 diabetes despite frequent exercise and the absence of obesity.
• Identify that unlike other immigrant populations, where obesity is associated with acculturation, age at or years since immigration is not associated with obesity or fat distribution among Filipina-Americans.

Keywords: Diabetes, Obesity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.