Family History, Diabetes, and Other Demographic andRisk Factors Among Participants of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey1999–2002

摘要

IntroductionFamily history of diabetes has been recognized as an important risk factor of thedisease. Family medical history represents valuable genomic information because itcharacterizes the combined interactions between environmental, behavioral, and geneticfactors. This study examined the strength and effect of having a family history ofdiabetes on the prevalence of self-reported, previously diagnosed diabetes among adultparticipants of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2002.MethodsThe study population included data from 10,283 participants aged 20 years and older.Gender, age, race/ethnicity, poverty income ratio, education level, body mass index, andfamily history of diabetes were examined in relation to diabetes status. Diabetesprevalence estimates and odds ratios of diabetes were calculated based on family historyand other factors.ResultsThe prevalence of diabetes among individuals who have a first-degree relative withdiabetes (14.3%) was significantly higher than that of individuals without a familyhistory (3.2%), corresponding to a crude odds ratio of five. Both prevalence and oddsratio estimates significantly increased with the number of relatives affected withdiabetes. Family history was also associated with several demographic and riskfactors.ConclusionFamily history of diabetes was shown to be a significant predictor of diabetesprevalence in the adult U.S. population. We advocate the inclusion of family historyassessment in public health prevention and screening programs as an inexpensive andvaluable source of genomic information and measure of diabetes risk.