Prevalence of glucose intolerance in young male Ethiopian immigrants.

The prevalence of intolerance to glucose was compared between young immigrant Ethiopian Jews shortly after their arrival to Israel, a similar group of Ethiopians 2-3 years after their arrival to Israel, and young Israeli students. A relatively high prevalence of glucose intolerance was found in both Ethiopian groups, but we could not demonstrate any deterioration in glucose tolerance after 2-3 years of Israeli life-style in the Ethiopian groups. In spite of high blood glucose levels in response to 75 g glucose load, when compared to Israeli students the Ethiopians' fasting insulin levels and insulin response to 75 g of glucose was relatively low, suggesting a higher glucose threshold for insulin secretion. However, in the Ethiopians, impaired glucose tolerance was associated with hyperinsulinemia, suggesting that similar to some other populations glucose intolerance is associated with insulin resistance.