A Thesis submitted to The University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Medicine. / Diabetes mellitus is widespread in the United States, and diabetic kidney disease is one of the most common complications. There is increasing evidence that podocyte injury is the initial pathologic change in diabetic nephropathy, and podocytopathy often manifests on renal biopsy as segmental sclerosis in other kidney diseases. The purpose of this study was to determine if segmental sclerosis is widespread in diabetic kidney disease. This study examined 1142 glomeruli from 61 Pima Indians who had diabetes for at least ten years. 24 patients were normoalbuminuric, 20 were microalbuminuric, and 17 were macroalbuminuric. The presence of segmental sclerosis was noted, as was global sclerosis. Segmental sclerosis was present in less than 2% of glomeruli. All glomeruli showed evidence of diabetic nephropathy including mesangial hypercellularity and invasion of mesangium into capillary loops. These data suggest that segmental sclerosis is not present in significant amounts in diabetic kidney disease. Rather, pathologic changes in the glomeruli of diabetic patients occur in a more diffuse pattern.

Thesis (Ph. D. - Anthropology)--University of Arizona. / Bibliography: leaves [411]-436.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Michigan, 1975. / Includes bibliographical references.

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Sustainable Built Environments Senior Capstone Project / For over a century, Pima Indians living just south of Phoenix, Arizona on the Gila River Indian Reservation have suffered from an epidemic of type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Over half of the Pima population living on the reservation is diagnosed with diabetes while the socioeconomic conditions of the tribal community are in an unstable and dilapidated state (Unnatural Causes 2008). Fifty percent of the Pimas living on the Gila River Indian Community live below the poverty level (Unnatural Causes 2008). Displacement from traditional customs and neglect from the U.S. federal government are just some of the detrimental impacts the people have faced over the last century (Unnatural Causes 2008). The discussions within this paper will attempt to address how and why the Pima Indians have experienced such severe changes in lifestyle and economy over the last century and what affect this has had on the physical health of the people in the community. By addressing these overarching issues, one should find that socioeconomics and conditions of physical health are strongly connected. Looking even closer though, specifically at the epidemic of type 2 diabetes and the contributing risk factors that this population suffers from, one will begin to question how within just a matter of 3 decades the number of diagnosed cases of type 2 diabetes doubled among the Pima and how the rates are some of the highest recorded in the entire world. Moreover, the underlying issue is not simply a cause of poor diet, change in activity levels and unfavorable genetics, rather - being robbed of a critical natural resource, forced to adapt to unfavorable economic changes and in the end, the U.S. government failure to intervene – are truly the underlying causes that have impacted the health of the Pima Indians of Southern Arizona. The Pimas are people of their natural environment. Having a long history of living along the Gila River, the Pima were water irrigation engineers (Unnatural Causes 2008). Cultivating local crops, living off the land and providing for themselves using waters of the Gila River in an arid climate is as much a part of their culture as is their ancestral bloodline. The research presented in these discussions will look at the identical ancestry of Pima Indians living in Southwestern Sonora, Mexico in the Sierra Madre Mountains of Maycoba in order to evaluate the Pima tribe’s predisposition to the disease. The significance of looking at these groups is that their genetic history is the same based upon linguistic and genealogy studies (Schulz, Bennett, Ravussin, Kidd, Kidd, Esparza, Valencia, 2006). However, the Pima living in Sonora have not seen the same ever-increasing rates of type 2 diabetes or even obesity, as their northern counterparts have. Notably, the Mexican Pima have not experienced the same environmental changes (i.e. drought) either. Subsequently, the Pima of Sonora have been able to continue their traditional ways of life including subsistence farming and healthy diet and exercise. A historical background of the Arizona Pimas will be provided, from their cultural traditions as irrigation engineers to their participation in federal subsidy programs and their current economic state. In-depth historical accounts will also be made for the history of water law in the Southwestern United States, including what drove white settlers’ demand for water west of the Mississippi over the course of two centuries, to the attempts to mitigate the severity of drought on Native American reservations through multiple legislative acts. Information regarding the Mexican Pima’s current economy, levels of physical activity and typical diet will be presented in comparison to the present health and economic conditions of the Arizona Pima.

When the Gila Pimas came into contact with Hispanic culture at the close of the 17th century, they had a relatively stable culture and economy. Subsistence was based on irrigation agriculture, supplemented by hunting and gathering. Except in basketry and weaving, their technology was simple. There were no full-time specialists The social organization was based on the patrilineal extended family, complicated by forms of relationships which cut across family and village lines. Leadership was just beginning to extend beyond the village The interests of the society were focused on curing, social relationships, and agriculture. Hospitality and peace were the two discernible values of the society. During the one hundred sixty years of Hispanic contact, the Gila Pimas were in an advantageous position in their relationships with the Whites. No immigrant establishment was ever located within their territory, and they were valued as one of the defenses of Sonora against encroachment from the north. Contacts between agents of the two cultures occurred intermittently and in an atmosphere of equality, rather than continuously and under conditions of domination. The Gila Pimas were thus never forced to live under two sets of values, and were able to choose what of Hispanic culture they wished to accept. They chose elements which they deemed desirable for their material benefit, rejecting others offered them. Consequently, Gila Pima culture was enriched by the Hispanic contacts, and readiness to adopt new cultural traits was stimulated. The continuity of the culture was uninterrupted, however, and no major reorientation took place, although the development of an orientation toward war was in process. Culture contact under those conditions has been defined as the situation of non-directed acculturation, The response of the Gila Pimas to that kind of acculturation situation was to develop a pattern of adjustment designated as selective acceptance with no major reorientation, and it is suggested that such a pattern of adjustment is only possible in a situation of non-directed acculturation.

Introduction. Pima Indians living in the United States (U.S.) have the highest prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in the world. Their Mexican counterparts, living a traditional lifestyle in the mountain of Sonora, Mexico, have at least five times less diabetes than the U.S. Pima Indians. The effects of a traditional lifestyle in reducing type 2 diabetes risk factors and the association of factors to type 2 diabetes were evaluated in a sample of 1211 genetically related Pima Indians living different lifestyles (224 from Mexico and 887 from U.S.). Subsets of these populations were used to address specific questions. First, differences in insulin resistance between subjects with normal glucose tolerance (194 Mexican versus 449 U.S. Pima) were evaluated. Second, the effect of physical activity and obesity explaining differences in metabolic syndrome prevalence were evaluated in 224 and 447 Mexican and U.S. Pima Indians. Third, factors associated with type 2 diabetes were evaluated in each Pima Indian population (224 from Mexico and 887 from U.S.).Methods. Demographic, physical, biochemical, and lifestyle factors were measured in 1996 in a cross-sectional study of Pima Indians 20 years of age or older living in Maycoba, Sonora Mexico and contrasted to results from a sample of U.S. Pima Indians participating in an ongoing epidemiological study that used similar methods and selection criteria. Insulin resistance was estimated by both fasting insulin and homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Metabolic syndrome was defined using the Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP III) criteria. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated by dividing weigh in kilograms by the square of height in meters (Kg/m2). Physical activity was measured using a questionnaire developed for the U.S. Pima Indians and adapted to the Mexican Pima Indian population. Type 2 diabetes was defined according to the 1999 WHO criteria after an oral glucose tolerance test. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to answer the first question (related to differences in insulin resistance) and multiple logistic regressions analysis to answer the second (related with differences in metabolic syndrome) and third questions (related to factors associated with type 2 diabetes).Results. Insulin resistance was much lower in the Mexican Pima Indians than in genetically related U.S. counterparts, even after controlling for differences in obesity, age and sex. In addition, the unadjusted prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 24.1% and 56.6 % in the Mexican and U.S. Pima Indians, respectively. However, most of the difference in metabolic syndrome prevalence was explained by differences in obesity and physical activity. Furthermore, in Mexican Pima Indians, type 2 diabetes was independently associated with age, fasting insulin, and waist circumference. In the U.S. Pima Indians, type 2 diabetes was associated with with age, sex, fasting insulin, total cholesterol, blood pressure and physical activity.Conclusion. The findings underscore the importance of lifestyle in the prevention of type 2 diabetes risk factors, such as insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome, even in individuals with high propensity to develop diabetes.