Ethnic differences in association of high body mass index with early onset of Type 1 diabetes – Arab ethnicity as case study

ObjectiveThe “accelerator hypothesis” predicts early onset of Type 1 diabetes (T1D) in heavier children. Studies testing direction of correlation between body mass index (BMI) and age at onset of T1D in different continental populations have reported differing results–inverse, direct, and neutral. Evaluating the correlation in diverse ethnic populations is required to generalize the accelerator hypothesis.MethodsThe study cohort comprised 474 Kuwaiti children of Arab ethnicity diagnosed with T1D at age 6 to 18 years during 2011–2013. Age- and sex-adjusted BMI z-scores were calculated by comparing the BMI measured at diagnosis with Kuwaiti pediatric population reference data recorded during comparable time-period. Multiple linear regression and Pearson correlation analyses were performed.ResultsBMI z-score was seen inversely associated with onset age (r,-0.28; p-value0 (i.e. BMI >national average) showed a stronger correlation (r,-0.38; p-valueversus 10.5±2.7; p-valueConclusionsThe accelerator hypothesis generalizes in Arab pediatric population from Kuwait.