HLA and non-insulin dependent diabetes in Fiji Indians

HLA frequency distributions in Fiji Indians with non-insulin dependent diabetes were compared with those in control subjects with confirmed two-hour plasma glucose levels less than 7.8 mmol/L. Antigen frequencies at HLA-A and HLA-DR loci were similar in patients and controls. At HLA-B, there was a significant increase in Bw61 (Bw40.2) in diabetics, with a relative risk for this antigen of 4.8. Since a similar finding has been reported previously in South African Indians with insulin-dependent diabetes, it is possible that we have defined yet another genetically-distinct form of diabetes, especially prevalent in Indians. Alternatively, definition of new HLA alleles such as Bw61, a new subdivision of an established antigen, may reveal HLA associations with non-insulin dependent diabetes in European Caucasians also.