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Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 60: Nov-Dec 1988 |
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Anomalous Geographical Distribution Of Diabetes Mellitus
The incidence of diabetes mellitus among children varies dramatically with geography. For children under 15, it is only 1.7 per 100,000 in Japan but rises to 29.5 in Finland. Within the States, it is 9.4 per 100,000 in San Diego and peaks at 20.8 in Rochester, Minnesota. Children of European descent in New Zea land contract it three times as often as Maori children. U.S. whites get the disease more frequently than blacks and Hispanics.
"Causes of these 'extraordinary' distribution differences remain unknown.... Both genetic and environmental factors appear necessary for the disease."
(Eron, C.; "Cold Facts on Diabetes," Science News, 134:117, 1988.)