No thesis selected. Latinos are the second largest and the fastest growing minority group in the United States. Compared to the general population Latinos have fewer years of education, have the highest rates of poverty and unemployment and are more likely to be underinsured. Although younger as a group, Latinos are experiencing an increase and life expectancy evidenced by their elderly population increasing by 75% since 1980. The aging of this population will have a significant impact on the prevalence o( chronic diseases associated with age, such as non- insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). NIDDM is a major health problem for Latinos. Results of the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey showed that Mexican/Americans had an age-adjusted prevalence rate of 7-8%. Factors believed to contribute to the high rate of diabetes in Latinos include: genetics, obesity, diet, physical activity and environment. Current research indicates that effective prevention efforts will be laborious and resource intensive. Identification of individuals susceptible to diabetes would be useful, because it would permit public health activists to concentrate resources for primary prevention of diabetes on subgroups at high risk. One approach could be to determine whether diabetes in this population varies among distinctive subgroups characterized by differences in the social and physical environment and to identify potentially modifiable risk factors and environmental determinants that are observed in these subgroups.
