Familiar history and predictive risk factors to type 2 diabetes: a cross sectional study in young Sicilian subjects of both sexes.

Abstract

Aim. For many industrialised populations, family history to type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is a risk factor to the development of illness, inducing early anthropometric and metabolic modifications. Aim of this study was to confirm in Sicilian population the influence of family history to type 2 DM on anthropometric data and basal blood pressure, considering the different degrees of familiar history to illness. Methods. In a cohort of 680 young healthy Sicilian subjects (278 men and 402 women) we analysed the relations of family history degree of DM on anthropometric data, such as body mass index (BMI), waist/hip ratio (WHR) and triceps skinfold. Degree of family history of DM was defined as presence in the family of at least one sibling of first degree or a parent with documented DM (FHDM++), of at least one family member of second degree with documented DM (FHDM+). Results. In both sexes the FHDM++ groups showed the highest values of body weight (P<0.001 for men, P<0.0001 for women), BMI (P<0.0005 for both sexes), WHR (P<0.0001 for men, P<0.01 for women), triceps skinfold (P<0.0001 for men, P<0.001 for women), with consequently higher proportion of obesity and overweight in the group with FHDM++. Subjects with FHDM+ were closer to control subject without family history of DM. FHDM++ was also associated with tendency to higher diastolic and systolic blood pressure values in both sexes. Conclusion. The study shows that young subjects with familiar history of type 2 diabetes have a higher prevalence of overweight and central obesity compared to other groups, suggesting that obesity in adolescents and young adults may be a strong pathophysiologic mechanism predictive of higher degree of future development of type 2 diabetes and hypertension.