The high incidence of diabetes mellitus in the micronesian population of Nauru.

As a follow-up to surveys conducted three years ago among the Micronesian population of Nauru, the incidence and prevalence of diabetes mellitus was studied in 433 subjects aged 20 years and older. The diagnosis of diabetes was based on a 2-h plasma glucose of 200 mg/dl (11.1 mmol/l), enabling comparison with the Rochester, U.S.A., (Caucasian) and Pima (American Indian) studies. In both sexes the prevalence rate rose steadily with age, and the overall prevalence was 24% for both sexes. The overall incidence rate was 15.4 per 1,000 person-years. However, males had almost twice the incidence of the females (20.2% vs 11.5%). The incidence rate of diabetes in Nauruans was considerably higher than that found in Rochester and was second to that of the Pimas as the highest rate reported in the literature.