Type 2 diabetes prevalence among Andean immigrants and natives in a Southern European City.

Aims: Inequalities in diabetes prevalence among immigrants from Andean countries remain unknown. Andean populations are one of the largest groups of immigrants in Madrid city. We examined the association between country of birth and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) prevalence in Andean immigrant population relative to Spanish-natives; and whether this association varied by age, sex and length of residence.

Methods: We analyzed 1,258,931 electronic medical records from Spanish native and Andean immigrant adults aged 40-75 years of Madrid city. We used logistic regression and test interaction terms to address our aims.

Results: Andean immigrants showed 1.13 (95% CI 1.10-1.17) greater adjusted odds for T2DM than Spanish natives. This association was positive in Ecuadorians and Bolivians but protective in Peruvians and Colombians. There was heterogeneity of this association according to age and sex. Relative to Spanish natives, odds of T2DM in Andeans of all ages and women were higher but lower in men.

Conclusion: Andean adults showed greater odds of T2DM compared with Spanish native adults in Madrid, with variation observed by age and sex. These findings emphasize the need for studying immigrant populations in a disaggregated manner to implement specific clinical and preventive approaches.