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To what extent can ethnic factors contribute to the prevalence of type 2 diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) in an urban Brazilian population? Conversely, how can environmental factors such as diet change these prevalences in a given ethnic group, in this case Brazilian Indians? To answer these questions estimates of ethnic admixture in Afro- and Euro-Brazilians from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, were established using eight genetic systems and compared with the prevalences of these conditions obtained previously. This information was integrated with results obtained inside and outside of Brazil. The similarity of prevalences for type 2 diabetes and IGT in Afro- and Euro-Brazilians may be related to the extensive gene flow that occurred between them and to similar socioeconomic levels in the samples investigated. On the other hand, changes in the traditional diet are probably conditioning the appearance of diabetes among Brazilian and other South American Indians. KEY WORDS: EURO-BRAZILIANS, AFRO-BRAZILIANS, TRIHYBRID POPULATION, VNTRISTR LOCI ETHNIC ADMIXTURE, RED CELL ANTIGENS. DIABETES AND AMERINDIAN ACCULTURATION, GENE FLOW AND DIABETES, Brazilians can be considered a trihybrid population with the contribution of Amerindian, European (mostly Portuguese), and African genes occurring in different proportions throughout the country. A survey to assess the [...]