Diabetic Blacks Have Less Coronary Artery Disease
In a surprising outcome, investigators at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center found that diabetic black men have dramatically lower amounts of atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, than diabetic white men.
Barry I. Freedman, M.D., and colleagues report in the December issue (Volume 48, No. 12) of Diabetologia that African-American men had significantly lower levels of calcified atherosclerotic plaque in the coronary (heart) arteries and the carotid arteries in the neck that supply blood to the brain. The report was published on line today (Nov. 1, 2005.)
“This striking result was observed despite black subjects having higher levels of conventional risk factors for heart disease,” said Freedman. “These risk factors would normally be expected to promote coronary artery disease in the black participants.”