Obesity and associated coronary heart disease risk factors in a population of low-income African-American and white women: the North Carolina WISEWOMAN project.
BACKGROUND
Obesity has been associated with many co-occurring coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors as well as CHD mortality. These associations have been shown to vary between African-American and white sample populations.


METHODS
The authors examined whether obesity co-occurs with several CHD risk factors (diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C)), and estimated the 10-year risk for CHD in the North Carolina WISEWOMAN (Well Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation) study sample. This sample includes low-income African-American and white women (> or = 50 years of age).


RESULTS
Among white women (n = 1,284), 34% were overweight (BMI = 25.0-29.99 kg/m(2)) and 35% obese (BMI > or = 30 kg/m(2)); among African-American women (n = 754), 28% were overweight and 59% obese. Among obese and nonobese African-American women, the prevalence of three or more co-occurring risk factors was similar (obese = 17.7% (95% confidence interval (CI): 13.9, 21.6) and nonobese = 13.3% (95% CI: 8.7, 17.8)). By contrast, the prevalence among white women was greater among the obese (26.9% (95% CI: 22.9, 31.0)) than the nonobese (13.0% (95% CI: 9.7, 16.2)).


CONCLUSIONS
The differences between and within African-American and white women may be accounted for by the high levels of HDL-C among obese and nonobese African-American women.
Nelson
Tracy L
TL
Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Hunt
Kelly J
KJ
Rosamond
Wayne D
WD
Ammerman
Alice S
AS
Keyserling
Thomas C
TC
Mokdad
Ali H
AH
Will
Julie C
JC
D044383:Black People; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality; D048909:Diabetes Complications; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000150:complications; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications; D008875:Middle Aged; D009657:North Carolina; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications* / Q000208:ethnology*; D011203:Poverty; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012494:Sampling Studies; D044465:White People; D001741:Black or African American