Native Hawaiians have a high prevalence rate of DM which impacts greatly on the morbidity and mortality of this minority population. Peripheral cell resistance to insulin is one of the features that characterize NIDDM. This study proposes to investigate the in vitro insulin sensitivity of subcutaneous adipocytes from native Hawaiians with and without NIDDM. Furthermore, with the predominance of genetic admixture within this population, we wish to examine the contribution of genetic inheritance to the possible in vitro cellular defects in diabetic native Hawaiians. Subjects will be interviewed and enrolled through the Queen Emma Clinic of Queens Medical Center, a University of Hawaii Medical School affiliated hospital, where approximately 2000 native Hawaiians, 200 with NIDDM receive health care. Processing of blood and adipocyte samples, hormonal measurements, and experiments of cellular insulin sensitivity will be performed in a laboratory of the Department of Medicine located in a building adjacent to the hospital.
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