The high prevalence of abnormal glucose tolerance in the Cherokee Indians of North Carolina.

IN THE PAST few years, several reports have been published concerning the prevalence of diabetes mellitus among various Indian tribes. Cohen's data showed that diabetes was quite common among Mojaves, Yumas, and Pimas but rare among Papagos and Apaches. 1 Salisbury reported that only five diabetics were found in 25,000 admissions of Navajos to an Arizona Indian Health Service Hospital. 2 Drevets carried out a retrospective chart review for a fiveyear period at two Choctaw Indian Hospitals and found that diabetes was much more common in full-blooded Indians than in part Indians and that the overall rate of diabetes among these Indians was higher than the range of rates usually quoted for the white population of the United States. 3 Because of the interesting and potentially important implications of these findings, arrangements were made for studies to delineate further the prevalence of diabetes among various Indian tribes. Because of local