Estimated 8-year cumulative incidence of diabetes mellitus among Sami and non-Sami inhabitants of Northern Norway- The SAMINOR Study

Abstract

<b>Background</b><br> The aim of the study was to estimate and compare the 8-year cumulative incidence of diabetes mellitus (DM) among Sami and non-Sami inhabitants of rural districts in Northern Norway. <br><b>Methods</b><br> Longitudinal study based on linkage of two cross-sectional surveys, the SAMINOR 1 Survey (2003–2004) and the SAMINOR 2 Clinical Survey (2012–2014). Ten municipalities in rural Northern Norway were included in the study. DM-free participants aged 30 and 36–71years in SAMINOR 1 were followed from 2 years after SAMINOR 1 to attendance in SAMINOR 2. The average follow-up time was 8.1years. Of 5875 subjects who had participated in SAMINOR 1 and could potentially be followed to SAMINOR 2, 3303 were included in the final analysis. Self-reported DM and/or HbA1c≥6.5% were used to identify incident cases of DM.<br><b> Results</b><br> At baseline, body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) were higher among Sami than among their non-Sami counterparts. After 8years of follow-up, 201 incident cases of DM were identified (6.1% both Sami and non-Sami subjects). No statistically significant difference was observed in the cumulative incidence of DM between the Sami and non-Sami.<br><b> Conclusions</b><br> No statistically significant difference in the 8-year cumulative incidence of DM among Sami and nonSami was observed, although Sami men and women had higher baseline BMI and WHtR.