Prevalence and determinants of type 2 diabetes among lean African migrants and non-migrants: the RODAM study

Exposure to adverse conditions earlier in life-course can predispose to type 2 diabetes in adulthood, irrespective of body mass index (BMI). However, the burden of type 2 diabetes in lean Africans is not well understood despite higher exposure to adverse early life conditions. Mirroring ongoing epidemiological transition, we assessed the burden and determinants of type 2 diabetes in a homogenous group of lean Ghanaians residing in rural and urban Ghana, and as migrants in Europe. Baseline data from 2179 RODAM study participants with BMI45 years). Our study shows a high prevalence of type 2 diabetes among lean African populations in different geographical settings. Future studies are needed in-order to examine how contextual differences are related to the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes in lean individuals.