The properdin factor B(Bf) variant F1 was found in 20% of 70 black patients with Type 1 (insulindependent) diabetes compared with 7.3% of 165 control subjects, yielding a significant relative risk of 3.1. In addition, the BfF allele was negatively associated with Type 1 diabetes among blacks, resulting in a relative risk of 0.4. The data suggest that Type 1 diabetes in black Americans may be partially due to admixture of Caucasoid genes. © 1982 Springer-Verlag.
