1. ¹Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine III, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technical University Dresden, Dresden, Germany
2. ²Centre for Genome Research, North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus), Pretoria, South Africa
3. ³DNAbiotec (Pty) Ltd, Pretoria, South Africa
4. ⁴National Institute of Endocrinology, Havana, Cuba
5. ⁵Division of Clinical Epidemiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
6. ⁶Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA
7. ⁷School for Physiology, Nutrition and Consumer Sciences, North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus), Potchefstroom, South Africa

Correspondence: Dr PEH Schwarz, Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine III, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technical University Dresden, Dresden 01307, Germany. E-mail: peter.schwarz@uniklinikum-dresden.de

Received 1 September 2007; Accepted 25 October 2007; Published online 4 March 2008.

Abstract

Type II diabetes mellitus is currently globally one of the fastest growing non-communicable diseases, especially in developing countries. This investigation reports on a meta-analysis undertaken of the C-11377G locus within the adiponectin gene in a black South African, a Cuban Hispanic and a German Caucasian cohort. Genotyping was performed via a real-time PCR strategy. Both fixed- and random-effects models were tested to describe the diabetes risk at both the cohort and population levels. The 2,2 genotype may only be associated with increased diabetes risk in the Cuban Hispanic cohort. Population-specific effects may have masked these associations upon meta-analytical analysis, as no significant odds ratio could be determined. Thus, to examine diabetes risk, a more global approach including the design of population-specific experimental strategies should be used, which will be crucial in developing health education and policies in a global health programme.