Genome-wide scan identifies a quantitative trait locus at 4p15.3 for serum urate.

Elevated serum urate levels lead to gout and are associated with hypertension, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The purpose of this study was to identify evidence for genetic linkage with serum urate and to determine whether variation within positional candidate genes is associated with serum urate levels in a non-European population. Genetic linkage analysis and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping was performed in a large family pedigree cohort from Mauritius.

Cut-points for waist circumference in Europids and South Asians.

There is little strong evidence that currently recommended higher waist circumference cut-points for Europids compared with South Asians are associated with similar risk for type 2 diabetes. This study was designed to provide such evidence. Longitudinal studies over 5 years were conducted among 5,515 Europid and 2,214 ethnically South Asian participants.

Risk prediction models for the development of diabetes in Mauritian Indians.

Aims: To develop risk prediction models of future diabetes in Mauritian Indians.

Methods: Three thousand and ninety-four Mauritian Indians (1141 men, aged 20-65 years) without diabetes in 1987 or 1992 were followed up to 1992 or 1998. Subjects underwent repeated oral glucose tolerance tests and diabetes was diagnosed according to 2006 World Health Organization/International Diabetes Federation criteria.

Genetic influences on type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome related quantitative traits in Mauritius.

Epidemiological studies report a high prevalence of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome in the island nation of Mauritius. The Mauritius Family Study was initiated to examine heritable factors that contribute to these high rates of prevalence and consists of 400 individuals in 24 large extended multigenerational pedigrees. Anthropometric and biochemical measurements relating to the metabolic syndrome were undertaken in addition to family and lifestyle based information for each individual.

BMI compared with central obesity indicators as a predictor of diabetes incidence in Mauritius.

The aim of the study was to compare BMI with waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-stature ratio (WSR) as a predictor of diabetes incidence. A total of 1,841 men and 2,104 women of Mauritian Indian and Mauritian Creole ethnicity, aged 25-74 years, free of diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and gout were seen at baseline in 1987 or 1992, and follow-up in 1992 and/or 1998. At all time points, participants underwent a 2 h 75 g oral glucose tolerance test.

Central obesity as a precursor to the metabolic syndrome in the AusDiab study and Mauritius.

Evidence from epidemiologic studies that central obesity precedes future metabolic change and does not occur concurrently with the appearance of the blood pressure, glucose, and lipid abnormalities that characterize the metabolic syndrome (MetS) has been lacking. Longitudinal surveys were conducted in Mauritius in 1987, 1992, and 1998, and in Australia in 2000 and 2005 (AusDiab). This analysis included men and women (aged > or = 25 years) in three cohorts: AusDiab 2000-2005 (n = 5,039), Mauritius 1987-1992 (n = 2,849), and Mauritius 1987-1998 (n = 1,999).

A prospective study of glycemia, body size, insulin resistance and the risk of hypertension in Mauritius.

Objective: To estimate the associations between new-onset hypertension and glycemia, insulin resistance, and overall and regional adiposity in a prospective study conducted in Mauritius.

Research Design And Methods: Three thousand five hundred and eighty-one adults without hypertension, pregnancy, or known diabetes at baseline (1987) were followed for incident hypertension in 1992 and 1998, (systolic blood pressure > or =140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure > or =90 mmHg or antihypertensive medication treatment). Other measurements included fasting plasma glucose and 2-h plasma glucose after a 75-g oral glucose load, fasting insulin, BMI, waist circumference, smoking, alcohol use, exercise, and demographic information.

Comparison of body mass index with waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, and waist-to-stature ratio as a predictor of hypertension incidence in Mauritius.

Objective: Comparison of BMI with waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-stature ratio (WSR) as a predictor of hypertension incidence.

Methods: A total of 1658 men and 1976 women of Mauritian Indian and Mauritian Creole ethnicity, aged 25-74 years, free of hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and gout at baseline in 1987 or 1992, were re-examined in 1992 and/or 1998 using the same survey methodology. Hazard ratios (HRs) for hypertension incidence were estimated applying an interval censored survival analysis (R program) using age as timescale based on baseline obesity indicators.

Serum uric acid and components of the metabolic syndrome in non-diabetic populations in Mauritian Indians and Creoles and in Chinese in Qingdao, China.

Objective: To assess the association of serum uric acid (UA) with components of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in different ethnic groups.

Methods: Nondiabetic men (3285) and nondiabetic women (4078) aged 25 to 74 years without a history of cardiovascular disease and gout from Mauritius and Qingdao China, comprising Mauritian Indians, Mauritian Creoles, and an urban Chinese population, were studied. The top quintile of waist circumference, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, serum total cholesterol and triglycerides, plasma glucose levels, and the bottom quintile of HDL cholesterol was defined as the metabolic disorder.

Serum uric acid and incident diabetes in Mauritian Indian and Creole populations.

Objective: To investigate the predictive value of serum uric acid (UA) for the development of diabetes in Asian Indians and Creoles living in Mauritius.

Methods: A total of 1941 men (1409 Indians, 532 Creoles) and 2318 non-pregnant women (1645 Indians, 673 Creoles), aged 25-74 years and free of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and gout at baseline examinations in 1987 or 1992, were re-examined in 1992 and/or 1998. Diabetes was determined according to WHO/IDF 2006 criteria.

The metabolic syndrome as a predictor of incident diabetes mellitus in Mauritius.

Aims: To assess the utility of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and a Diabetes Predicting Model as predictors of incident diabetes.

Methods: A longitudinal survey was conducted in Mauritius in 1987 (n = 4972; response 80%) and 1992 (n = 3685; follow-up 74.2%).

Leptin predicts the development of diabetes in Mauritian men, but not women: a population-based study.

Objective: To determine if levels of the adipocyte-derived hormone, leptin, predict the development of type 2 diabetes.

Methods: Population-based surveys were undertaken in the multiethnic nation of Mauritius in 1987, 1992 and 1998. Questionnaires, anthropometric measurements, and a 2-h 75-g oral glucose tolerance test were included.

Six year incidence and progression of diabetic retinopathy: results from the Mauritius diabetes complication study.

Aims: To determine the incidence, progression and risk factors for diabetic retinopathy in the multiethnic population of Mauritius.

Method: A longitudinal, population-based study was conducted in Mauritius, during 1987, 1992 and 1998. Participants identified through the study as having diabetes (both known and newly diagnosed, by self-report and oral glucose tolerance test) and one in four participants with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) underwent complications screening in 1992 and 1998.

Dietary Westernisation: conceptualisation and measurement in Mauritius.

Objectives: The aims of the study were to provide information that will contribute to conceptualising what is called "dietary Westernisation", and to provide an example of measuring it on an individual level.

Design: Food consumption frequency and demographic data on adults in Mauritius were examined in 1988, 1992 and 1998. In 1992, a 24-hour recall was also included.

Increasing prevalence of Type 2 diabetes mellitus in all ethnic groups in Mauritius.

Aims: To describe the prevalence of different stages of glucose intolerance in a population from Mauritius followed over 11 years.

Methods: Population-based surveys were undertaken in the multiethnic nation of Mauritius in 1987, 1992 and 1998, with 5083, 6616, and 6291 participants, respectively. Questionnaires, anthropometric measurements, and a 2-h 75-g oral glucose tolerance test were included.

High incidence of type 2 diabetes and increasing conversion rates from impaired fasting glucose and impaired glucose tolerance to diabetes in Mauritius.

Objective: To describe the incidence of different stages of glucose intolerance in a population from Mauritius followed over 11 years. RESEARCH DESIGN, METHODS AND SUBJECTS: Population-based surveys were undertaken in the multi-ethnic nation of Mauritius in 1987, 1992 and 1998 with 5083, 6616 and 6291 participants, respectively. Questionnaires, anthropometric measurements, and a 2-h 75-g oral glucose tolerance test were included.

Gender differences in the prevalence of impaired fasting glycaemia and impaired glucose tolerance in Mauritius. Does sex matter?

Objective: To examine gender differences in the characteristics and prevalence of various categories of glucose tolerance in a population study in Mauritius.

Research Design And Methods: In 1998, a community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in Mauritius. Categories of glucose metabolism were determined in 5388 adults, with an oral glucose tolerance test given to those who did not have previously diagnosed diabetes (n=4036).

Association of physical activity and serum insulin concentrations in two populations at high risk for type 2 diabetes but differing by BMI.

Objective: Physical activity and insulin sensitivity are related in epidemiological studies, but the consistency of this finding among populations that greatly differ in body size is uncertain. The present multiethnic epidemiological study examined whether physical activity was related to insulin concentrations in two populations at high risk for diabetes that greatly differ by location, ethnic group, and BMI.

Research Design And Methods: The study populations consisted of 2,321 nondiabetic Pima Indian men and women aged 15-59 years from Arizona and 2,716 nondiabetic men and women aged 35-54 years from Mauritius.

Leptin and other components of the Metabolic Syndrome in Mauritius--a factor analysis.

Objective: To use factor analysis to examine the putative role of leptin in the Metabolic Syndrome, and to define better the associations among observed variables and the identified factors.

Design: Factor analysis of cross-sectional data from a 1987 survey.

Subjects: Non-diabetic residents of Mauritius who participated in population-based surveys in 1987 and 1992 (1414 men and 1654 women).

Features of the metabolic syndrome predict higher risk of diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance: a prospective study in Mauritius.

Objective: To assess the independent and joint effects of the components of the metabolic syndrome, including leptin, which is a recently proposed addition to this syndrome, in predicting the cumulative incidence of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and diabetes among individuals with normal glucose tolerance.

Research Design And Methods: This prospective study involved 2,605 residents of Mauritius with normal glucose tolerance who were followed for 5 years for IGT or diabetes onset in relation to total and regional adiposity (BMI, waist-to-hip ratio [WHR]), fasting and 2-h 75-g oral glucose load glucose and insulin, total and HDL cholesterol, blood pressure, serum uric acid, triglyceride, and leptin levels.

Results: A multivariate logistic regression model adjusted for age, sex, ethnicity, and diabetes family history showed a significantly higher linear increase in risk of IGT and diabetes in association with the following variables only: fasting glucose (odds ratio 1.

Decreasing prevalence of cigarette smoking in the middle income country of Mauritius: questionnaire survey.

Objectives: To describe changes in the prevalence of cigarette smoking in the middle income country of Mauritius from 1987 to 1998, and to relate these changes to legislative and health promotion efforts over the same period.

Design: Questionnaire survey.

Setting: Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean with a population of about 1.

Impaired fasting glucose: how low should it go?

Objective: Impaired fasting glucose (IFG) has been recently introduced as a stage of abnormal carbohydrate metabolism, but the evidence on which its glucose limits (fasting plasma glucose [FPG] 6.1-6.9 mmol/l) are based is not strong.

Isolated post-challenge hyperglycaemia confirmed as a risk factor for mortality.

Aims/hypothesis: The aim of this study was to examine the possible link between isolated post-challenge hyperglycaemia (2-h post-challenge plasma glucose >/= 11.1 mmol/l, and fasting plasma glucose < 7.0 mmol/l) and mortality.

Impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance. What best predicts future diabetes in Mauritius?

Objective: To determine if impaired fasting glucose (IFG; fasting plasma glucose level 6.1-6.9 mmol/l) can predict future type 2 diabetes as accurately as does impaired glucose tolerance (IGT; 2-h plasma glucose level 7.