Insulinopenic diabetes in Africa.

The high proportion of unrefined carbohydrates (maize meal) in the diet of Africans could be responsible for their low insulin secretion. The consequent insulinopenia in the general African population may explain the comparative rarity of typical non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, and also the virtual absence of coronary heart disease. Changes in growth hormone secretion and in serum lipids, known to be associated with diabetes in Europeans, are also found in African patients.