title: Body-mass index and mortality risk in U.S. blacks compared to whites.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare body-mass index (BMI)-related mortality risk in U.S. Blacks vs. Whites as the relationship appears to differ across race/ethnicity groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional surveys of nationally representative samples of 11,934 Blacks and 59,741 Whites aged 35-75 in the National Health Interview Survey from 1997 to 2002 with no history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) or cancer were pooled. Mortality follow-up was available through 2006. BMI was calculated from self-reported height and weight. We used adjusted Cox regression analysis to adjust for potential confounders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Over 9 years of follow-up, there were 4303 deaths (1205 among never smokers). Age-adjusted mortality rates were higher in Blacks compared to Whites at BMI < 25 kg/m2 and showed no increase at higher levels of BMI. In men, adjusted hazard ratios for all-cause death rose in a similar fashion across upper BMI quintiles in Blacks and Whites; in women, however, BMI was positively associated with mortality risk in Whites, but inversely associated in Blacks (P interaction = 0.01). Racial disparities were amplified in subsidiary analyses that introduced a 12-month lag for mortality or focused on CVD mortality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The relationship of elevated BMI to mortality appeared weaker in US Blacks than in Whites, especially among women.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Chandra L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.forename: Nae-Yuh
authors.initials: NY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hsin-Chieh
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.forename: Moyses
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Szklo
authors.forename: Rosemary
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dray-Spira
authors.forename: Frederick L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Brancati
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000208:ethnology; D044465:White People
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