Individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds often experience lower socio-economic status, and more frequently reside in deprived neighborhoods, with less options for physical activity, healthy food, social support and healthcare resources. Furthermore, psychosocial factors such as heightened stress and depression that potentially stem from discrimination and adverse social circumstances, may further exacerbate the risk of T2D in these populations.
APH-researcher Mirthe Muilwijk investigated differences in the risk of T2D complications between ethnic minority and (European/Dutch) host populations in a meta-analysis and in data from the DIAMANT cohort, and assesses whether ethnic differences are explained by differences in social and physical environmental factors.
Muilwijk: "Our meta-analysis showed that ethnic minority populations with T2D in Europe are generally at reduced risk of all-cause mortality and macrovascular complications (except for South Asians), but at higher risk of some microvascular complications. Next, we linked data from Statistics Netherlands to GECCO data to assess ethnic differences in social and physical environmental factors. Analyses are ongoing, but we can disclose that ethnic minority populations are at increased exposure to air pollution and noise, and have lower livability scores. In the final step of the project, we will assess how ethnic differences in health-care utilization, health-related behaviors, and social and physical environmental exposures contribute to ethnic differences in T2D complications. Traditional epidemiological methods will be compared to machine learning methods."