Diabetes mellitus among the Florida Seminoles.

IN some Indian tribes, the frequency of diabetes mellitus greatly exceeds that of the U.S. white or black population (1-3). Other tribes have been found to have a prevalence comparable to that of more recent U.S. settlers (4). Still others have a relatively low prevalence (5). Within these groups, variations in frequency may occur between those with full Indian blood and those with mixed blood (6). These observations have tended to reinforce the concept of a hereditary basis for diabetes. The Seminoles of Florida are descendants of members of the Oconee tribe who joined the Creek Confederacy and migrated to Florida in the 1700's. These people were later joined by a number of other groups with different languages and, following the Creek-American War of 1813-14, their numbers were tripled by the addition of refugees from many tribes. Runaway slaves were welcomed by the Seminoles and contributed to the amalgam that gave rise to the Seminole "tribe." Two language groups emerged, the numerically dominant Muskogee-speaking people (Cow Creek Seminoles) and the Hitchiti-speaking people who supplied the leadership (Mikasuki Seminoles). During the Seminole wars (1830-58), a band of predominantly Mikasuki Seminoles escaped into the swamps of south Florida to avoid forced settlement in Oklahoma (7). From approximately 150 persons, the Florida tribe has increased to a current census of 1,300 to 1,400; there has been considerable inbreeding (8).