The complement component C4 in black Americans with type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus.

The complement component C4 variants C4A 4, C4B 4 and C4B Q0 were found to be significantly increased in 64 black patients with Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes compared with 169 black control subjects, yielding relative risks of 3.3, 2.9 and 3.4, respectively. The increased frequencies of C4B 4 and C4B Q0 in black Type 1 diabetic patients are similar to those found in Caucasoid Type 1 diabetic patients. The data suggest that Type 1 diabetes in black Americans may be partially due to admixture of genes from whites.