Adesoba Sees Lean Diabetes Research Project Published by National Health Magazine
| Taiwo Adesoba, Ph.D., a spring 2023 doctoral graduate of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, saw his study on the nationwide increase of lean diabetes recently published in Diabetes Care.
Adesoba’s research, Trends in the Prevalence of Lean Diabetes Among U.S. Adults, 2015-2020, examined the growing rate of lean diabetes among adults in the United States. Adesoba’s data comes from over 2.6 million American adults who responded to a behavioral risk factor surveillance system survey between 2015 and 2020.
Adesoba said the results show an increase in diabetes prevalence among lean adults varied by subgroup. Black, Hispanic and female populations had the largest increase of lean diabetes during the five-year study period.
“The research shows that we’re seeing an increase in people who are not overweight getting diabetes,” Adesoba said.
“Studies are ongoing to find out the exact reasons for the increase in lean diabetes. But based on existing studies — diet could possibly be a part of cause and lifestyle choices can also be a part of it. But the research is ongoing as clinical professionals are attempting to pinpoint what’s leading to lean diabetes and the increasing number of Americans who have it.”
Lean diabetes is different from Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes.
A person can be born with Type 1 diabetes as their body’s immune system undermines the pancreas’ beta cells, which produce insulin. Meanwhile, Type 2 diabetes is often found in adults and results in a person having unhealthy blood sugar levels. Most people who have Type 2 diabetes are obese and have unhealthy dietary habits.
Type 2 is the most common form of diabetes.
However, lean diabetes is typically found in adults who are not obese and are otherwise deemed healthy. Considering the issues that diabetes can cause and the research showing the national growth of lean diabetes, Adesoba says this is another reminder of the importance of a person monitoring their health.
“People need to be aware of the manifestation of diabetes, even in individuals who aren’t necessarily obese,” Adesoba said. “I believe that early diabetes screening and preventive programs and healthy lifestyle choices would be helpful in addressing this health problem. Based on the study — aside from women and people of color — individuals younger than 45 were also among the population bases with the highest rates of lean diabetes. I’d think that individuals in those groups especially may be prime candidates for testing and the ongoing research.”
Adesoba mentioned that his inspiration to begin the lean diabetes study came from a podcast that caught him by surprise.
“In the podcast, I saw a Black man who was not overweight, but he still had diabetes,” Adesoba said. “Seeing the emotional pain he had and how he dealt with the situation, I became curious to find out what was going on because he was not obese. That prompted me to conduct the study with the support of one of my professors, Dr. Clare Brown of the Department of Health Policy and Management, who is also my co-author.”
Adesoba, a native of Ikoro-Ekiti, Nigeria, acknowledged that this study meant a lot to him personally because people of color are heavily affected by diabetes. Having this study published is his way of helping Americans, especially those whom he has a connection to.
“I’m happy that I was able to contribute to the increase of public health knowledge in the United States through showing how lean diabetes is trending up,” he said. “I was able to pinpoint groups that should targeted for screening, especially people of color. That means a lot to me as I too am a person of color, to do research for people who are like me.
“Diabetes Care publishing the research is something I’m ecstatic about. I appreciate the opportunity to have the study published.”