Ethnic differences in body composition and other markers of cardiovascular disease risk: study in matched Haitian and White subjects from Quebec.
OBJECTIVE
People of African descent may be at greater risk of metabolic syndrome (MS) compared with whites. We examined the associations among MS markers, body composition, and resting metabolic rate (RMR) in black Haitians and in white subjects living in Quebec, Canada.


METHODS
Forty randomly selected Haitians were matched with 40 white subjects for age, sex, and BMI. Glycemic status and insulin resistance were assessed based on a 3-hour glucose tolerance test. Blood lipids, blood pressure, abdominal fat (computed tomography), and waist circumference (WC) were measured. RMR was estimated by indirect calorimetry.


RESULTS
Triglycerides were significantly correlated with blood pressure only in Haitians and with the area under the curve for insulin only in whites. Haitians had significantly (p < 0.05) lower triglycerides and higher high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol concentrations but higher blood pressure than whites at any given WC value. General linear models showed that Haitians had less visceral adipose tissue than whites for the same WC. RMR was lower among Haitians for any given value of BMI or WC than in whites. Also, WC was more strongly associated with glucose area under the curve and to log-homeostasis model assessment in white than in Haitian subjects.


CONCLUSIONS
The MS may be ethnospecific in its features and etiology. The standard anthropometric indices of obesity may not be as effective in populations of African descent compared with whites, unless appropriate cut-off values are defined.
Désilets
Marie-Claude
MC
RANSNUT World Health Organization Collaborating Centre on Nutrition Changes and Development, Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Canada.
Garrel
Dominique
D
Couillard
Charles
C
Tremblay
Angelo
A
Després
Jean-Pierre
JP
Bouchard
Claude
C
Delisle
Hélène
H
D000328:Adult; D001481:Basal Metabolism; D015415:Biomarkers; D001823:Body Composition; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006205:Haiti / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D050152:Intra-Abdominal Fat; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011792:Quebec / Q000208:ethnology; D012307:Risk Factors; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D015415:Biomarkers