ATW1H%ASUACAD.BITNET@oac.ucla.edu (Dr David Dodell) (09/05/89)
--- begin part 5 of 5 cut here --- highly associated with diabetes in the government apartment buildings. Alcohol in contrast was a potent determinant of prevalence in the slums. San Antonio - Mexico City Project: The group in San Antonio, headed by Dr. Michael Stern, has recently begun a collaborative project with a group in Mexico City, headed by Dr. Clicerio Gonzales, assisted by Dr. Joel Rodriguez. Their plan is to carry out a survey in a low-income, urban Mexico City barrio to compare the prevalence of type II diabetes in that site with the prevalence observed in Mexican Americans living in a comparable, low-income barrio in San Antonio, Texas. Based on genetic admixture estimates (which the investigators plan to confirm and extend), it is thought that genetic susceptibility is similar in both sites, in which case Health InfoCom Network News Page 41 Volume 2, Number 32 September 4, 1989 any differences in prevalence would presumably be due to environmental factors which the investigators also plan to characterize. Preliminary data suggest that compared to Mexican Americans, Mexico City residents have less diabetes, are less obese, and eat less fat, but more sugar. Field work for this project is scheduled to begin in the fall of 1989. Brazil: Diabetes registries - Dr. Laercio Franco continues his IDDM registry in four cities of the State of Sao Paulo. It will be completing three years next September. Also another center will be added in the IDDM incidence study next July in Brasilia. Prevalence study - the data entry has been completed of a prevalence study of diabetes in the age group 30 - 69 years old, carried out in nine Brazilian capitals (Belem, Fortaleza, Joao Pessoa, Recife, Salvador, Brazilia, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Porto Alegre). Glucose measurements have been performed on 21,774 individuals and 75g load in 4740 individuals. Diabetes in the Japanese American Community - a cooperative study with Dr. Wilfred Fujimoto from Seattle, Washington has begun which examines Brazilians with Japanese ancestry in Sao Paulo. Great Britain: Dr. Baum is completing his countrywide survey of IDDM. Dr. Burden reports major increases in IDDM in Leicester during the past 30 years. There has been an extremely accelerated increased incidence among the Asian inhabitants in the area. New Meetings: The second International Seminar on Diabetes Epidemiology to be held in Recife Brazil is being planned for November 1990. Dr. Laercio Franco (FAX 5511 57 16245) should be contacted for additional information. Diabetes Contents: The British Diabetic Association produces an excellent quarterly publication called Diabetes Contents. This contains the title, author and journal references to all papers on diabetes from 65 journals. It is published four times a year. It costs, in the U.K, 5.00 pounds, elsewhere, 10.00 pounds per year. To receive Diabetes Contents, contact Joan Miller, BDA, 10 Queen Anne Street, London W1M OBD, UK. International Diabetes Federation: The IDF is organizing a committee on epidemiology. In addition, they are developing epidemiologic studies to evaluate the availability of insulin. News from WHO: WHO raises the profile of its diabetes programme. In February 1989, WHO sponsored the IV World Congress on Diabetes in the Health InfoCom Network News Page 42 Volume 2, Number 32 September 4, 1989 Tropics and Developing Countries in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The meeting was well- attended by local participants and over 30 international delegates. The V World Congress will be held in Karachi, Pakistan, 14-16 December 1990. In April 1989 the first WHO course on diabetes epidemiology in Africa was held in Kinshase, Zaire which is the second largest population centre in sub- Saharan Africa. Fourteen participants attended from 9 French-speaking African countries. The course was conducted in French and faculty was drawn from Congo, Mali, Senegal, Zaire and France. The seminar was organized jointly by WHO and the INSERM Unit 21, Paris, France. Topics included basic principles of epidemiology and medical statistics, intervention studies, community control of diabetes, literature critique and the preparation of a study protocol. A review of diabetes epidemiology in Africa highlighted the inadequate knowledge of diabetes epidemiology in the urban setting in the region. In a special edition of World Health Statistics Quarterly, devoted to noncommunicable diseases, articles presented the latest statistical information on both IDDM and NIDDM. References are: World Health Statistics Quarterly 1988;41:179-189 and 190-196. Copies are available on request from Hilary King, WHO, Geneva. At the forty-second World Health Assembly a resolution was passed for the first time on the subject of diabetes. The resolution was co-sponsored by the delegates of Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Fiji, Kiribati, Malta, Mauritius, New Zealand, Pakistan, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom. The resolution invited member states to assess the national importance of diabetes, to implement population-based measures for its control and to share training facilities. It requested the Director-General of WHO, Dr. Hiroshi Nakajima, to strengthen WHO activities to prevent and control diabetes. Mauritius: Very high rates of non-communicable disease especially diabetes have been found in Mauritia in an initial screening program headed by Drs. Zimmet, Alberti, Tuomilehto and Dowse. The Mauritius study is designed to continue to monitor non-communicable diseases with plans for intervention. A morbidity and mortality study is planned as well as the investigation of the contribution of the diet which consists of a very high intake of palm oil. Future Meetings: Professor Serrano-Rios from Madrid suggested that there is a need for having the first international meeting devoted exclusively to the epidemiology of Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus. This might be held at lovely locations such as the Canary Islands, Hawaii or Pittsburgh. The targeted date for the meeting would be the end of 1991. Please send to Dr. Serrano-Rios or Dr. LaPorte your suggestions about the meeting. The fourth WHO diabetes epidemiology course is to be held in Cambridge in 1990. Dr. Rhys Williams from Cambridge (FAX 44 223 33 4748) can be contacted for further information. This course is for people who have had no training in diabetes epidemiology. It is targetted toward young people who have recently completed their training and who could begin to work in the area. Health InfoCom Network News Page 43 Volume 2, Number 32 September 4, 1989 Regional courses on diabetes epidemiology are to be held. An Asian course is to be held in the summer of 1991 (contact Dr. Naoko Tajima at FAX # 81 3 435 1922 for information). A Latin American course for 1992 is also being established. There has been an interest in the development of an advanced course in diabetes epidemiology. Dr. Jaakko Tuomilehto is exploring the possibility of having this held in Finland. This course would be for people who have been in the field of diabetes epidemiology who would like to receive advanced statistical, methodologic and design training. He can be reached at FAX number 358 0 757 0595. 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