Lecture 6 Endocrine and Diabetes

The endocrine system seems to hide under plain sight. There is no large dedicated organ, no visible complex networks, just hormones that alters cellular function. However these hormones control every aspects of the mind and body, not to mention that endocrine disorders can often be severe and debilitating - diabetes, hypothyroidism, pituitary disorders, etc. As one may suspect, race and ethnicity significantly alter one’s risk and outcome for endocrine disorders. Take diabetes as an example. From 2003 to 2013, the prevalence of combined diabetes and pre- diabetes rose from 6.8% to 12.4% in Asian immigrants (Fan et al). According to CDC, although Asians are often perceived as less overweight, people of Asian descent generally have less muscle and more visceral fat and tend to develop T2DM at an earlier age with lower weight. Health providers thus may be less suspecting of T2DM in Asians although the risk is not significantly lower than risk in other groups. It would be our job to educate ourselves regarding these differences and address them in future clinical practice.