Nutrient intake of Pima Indian women: relationships to diabetes mellitus and gallbladder disease

Abstract

Pima Indians are a well-defined population living in close proximity to off-reservation communities. Food is procured through any of three sources: trading posts, local off-reservation grocery stores, and surplus food commodities. Although the Pimas have adopted many of the white communities¹food habits, beans, chili, and tortillas are still the most prominent items in the Pima diet. Dietary histories of 277 females, 25 to 44 years of age, showed that their diet meets or exceeds the National Research Council’s recommended allowances for calories, protein, calcium, iron, and magnesium. The P/S fat ratio was lower than desirable, although it is commensurate with the intake of the general United States population. Fluoride intake from water was higher and cholesterol intake was comparable to the present dietary of this country. The subjects were classified into various subgroups for statistical comparisons on Selected nutrients. The subgroups were determined by presence of diabetes, gallbladder disease, employment status, and district of residence. There were few significant differences in the group comparisons when the two groups were compared in respect to 18 nutrients, Diabetics showed significantly lower total carbohydrate (P< 0.05) and sucrose (P< 0.001) intakes than the non-diabetics. Women working outside the home had a significantly lower caloric (P< 0.001) intake and a higher animal protein intake (P< 0.01) than the non-working women. There were no significant differences in the nutrient intakes between women with gallbladder disease and those without disease. The chief animal protein contributors to the diet were beef, pork, variety and organ meats, eggs, and Longhorn cheese. Beans, in addition to supplying the major portion of vegetable protein, also contributed significant amounts of calcium, iron, and magnesium. The nutrient intakes of the group interviewed and the internal comparisons do not appear to be markedly different from nutrient intakes in the general United States population. Results of this diet survey did not indicate an association between dietary intake of selected nutrients and the prevalence of either diabetes or gallbladder disease. This study is a base line for prospective investigation in the following 10 years. This age group of women has the highest incidence of diabetes and an extraordinarily high prevalence of gallbladder disease; the incidence of diabetes is high enough so that new cases developing in a few years may demonstrate whether or not individuals with different dietary intakes develop diabetes at different rates.