Racial and ethnic disparities in type 2 diabetes: does visceral fat play a role? Evidence from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) study
Authors' conclusion
Visceral fat explained one-fifth of racial and ethnic differences in T2D comparing Hispanic females to White females and may contribute to Hispanic females' higher T2D risk.
Study context
- Population
- MESA participants with visceral fat measured by CT, followed for incident T2D from 2002–2005 to 2020; 51.2% females51.2% females
- Participants
- 1,457 participants
- Exposure
- Racial and ethnic groups vs White participants, stratified by sex
- Outcome
- Incident T2D risk by race, and proportion explained by visceral fat
Methodological detailssex-stratified, natural mediation analysis
- Sex-stratified
- Natural mediation analysis
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Incident T2D
Each group vs whiteHazard ratio (95% CI)
Hispanicfemales
1.77(1.17–2.69)
Chinesefemales
1.91(1.15–3.15)
Blackfemales
1.59(1.02–2.49)
Hispanicmales
1.82(1.20–2.76)
Blackmales; not statistically significant
1.48(0.92–2.38)
Chinesemales; not statistically significant
0.86(0.48–1.55)
- Visceral fat explained T2D risk between Hispanic and White females
- 23.1%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | Mean difference (cm²) |
|---|---|
| Visceral fat (cm²)Hispanic vs White · females; SE 5.68; higher with Hispanic | 22.72 |
| Visceral fat (cm²)Chinese vs White · males; SE 8.47 | −77.56 |
| Visceral fat (cm²)Black vs White · males; SE 8.11 | −57.57 |
Original publication
Racial and ethnic disparities in type 2 diabetes: does visceral fat play a role? Evidence from the MESA study. Int J Obes (Lond). Published 8 April 2026. doi:10.
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