"Our findings indicate that the risk of type 2 diabetes for African-American women is influenced not just by individual characteristics, but by the characteristics of the neighborhoods in which they live," said senior author Julie Palmer, Sc.D., a senior epidemiologist at the Slone Epidemiology Center and professor of epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health. "Even women with the highest educational levels appeared to be affected by their neighborhood environment," she added.

"Because many Africa-Americans live in disadvantaged neighborhoods regardless of their level of education, efforts to reduce the occurrence of diabetes need to include improving conditions in disadvantaged neighborhoods," added study co-author Yvette Cozier, D.Sc., an epidemiologist at the Slone Epidemiology Center and an assistant professor of epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health.

Source: Boston University Medical Center