Body mass index and nutrition as determinants of health and disease in population of Croatian Adriatic islands.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the relationships between body mass index (BMI), dietary habits, and cardiovascular risk factors in isolated Adriatic island populations of Croatia.


METHODS
Random sample of subjects (n=1001) was interviewed, using a validated questionnaire developed for this research program. Dietary habits were assessed on the basis of applied Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). Biochemical analyses of total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), triglycerides, and blood glucose were performed. Blood pressure (mm Hg), height (m), and weight (kg) were measured following standard procedures.


RESULTS
Out of 1001 study participants, 507 (50.7%) were overweight (247 [48.7%] men and 260 [51.3%] women), whereas 268 (26.8%) were obese (122 [45.5%] men and 146 [54.5%] women). In both genders, there was a positive correlation between body mass index (BMI) and levels of triglycerides (P<0.001), glucose (P<0.001), diastolic blood pressure (P<0.001), and systolic blood pressure (male: P=0.002, female: P<0.001). Logistic regression showed that female gender (OR, 2.31; 95% CI, 1.61-3.31), overweight (OR, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.34-2.88), obesity (OR, 1.90; 95% CI, 1.22-2.96), more frequent consumption of meat (OR 1.17; 95% CI, 1.06-1.30) and beer (OR 1.14; 95% CI, 1.03-1.27), and less frequent consumption of potatoes (OR 0.91; 95% CI, 0.83-0.99) were predictive for the presence of cardiovascular risk factors.


CONCLUSIONS
Prevalence of obesity and related health outcomes was surprisingly high for the studied population. We found a correlation between BMI, dietary habits, and cardiovascular risk factors.
Pucarin-Cvetković
Jasna
J
Department of Environmental, and Occupational Health, Andrija Stampar School of Public Health, Zagreb University School of Medicine, Rockefellerova 4, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia. jpucarin@snz.hr
Mustajbegović
Jadranka
J
Doko Jelinić
Jagoda
J
Senta
Ankica
A
Nola
Iskra Alexandra
IA
Ivanković
Davor
D
Kaić-Rak
Antoinnete
A
Milosević
Milan
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001794:Blood Pressure; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D017523:Croatia; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications
D008055:Lipids