American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 13, 127-134, Copyright © 1963 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc.

A Survey of Chronic Disease and Diet in Seminole Indians in Oklahoma

¹ From the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Oklahoma Medical Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, The Seminole County Health Department, Wewcka, Oklahoma, and the Oklahoma State Department of Health, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Body build, blood pressure determinations, hemoglobin and cholesterol levels, the incidence of diabetes, dietary habits and causes of death are compared in Seminole Indians and white subjects in Seminole County, Oklahoma. Similar data were made available for comparison on Florida Seminole Indians.

Indians were shorter and heavier than white subjects. Mean blood, pressure determinations, serum cholesterol levels and dietary habits were similar in Indian and white subjects. More diabetes was found in the Indian populations. Coronary artery disease as a cause of death was less frequent in the Indian than in the white subject in Oklahoma but much more frequent than that reported for Navaho and Pima Indians. Hypertension, stroke and diabetes ranked relatively high and lung cancer low as causes of death in the Oklahoma Indian.