Association between parental history of type 2 diabetes and glycemic control in urban African Americans

OBJECTIVE - The purpose of this study was to examine the association between parental history of type 2 diabetes and glycemic control among diabetic urban African Americans. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS - Study participants included 359 African Americans with type 2 diabetes from Baltimore, Maryland, enrolled in Project Sugar 2. Participants underwent an interview-administrated questionnaire that asked about family history, sociodemographics, clinical characteristics, and knowledge and perception of adequate glycemic control. Regression analysis was used to determine the association between parental history of diabetes and glycemic control, as measured by A1C. RESULTS - In the comparisons between participants with and without a parental history of diabetes, those with a positive parental history tended to be younger, have higher glucose levels, and have higher blood glucose levels before calling a doctor (all P < 0.05). After adjustments for age, sex, and BMI, there was a significant association (P = 0.02) between A1C and parental history with the mean A1C difference between those with a positive and a negative parental history being 0.58%. However, after adjustment for duration of diabetes, the association was no longer significant (P = 0.11). However, there was a tendency for individuals with two diabetic parents to have higher A1C (P = 0.011). CONCLUSIONS - From these results, we conclude that among the urban African American participants who were aware of their parental history of diabetes, a positive parental history was associated with worse glycemic control, partly due to longer duration of diabetes. Parental history did not appear to be associated with better knowledge or perception of adequate glycemic control.