title: Overweight and obesity among low-income Muslim Uyghur women in far western China: correlations of body mass index with blood lipids and implications in preventive public health.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The pandemic of obesity is a global public health concern. Most studies on obesity are skewed toward high-income and urban settings and few covers low-income populations. This study focused on the prevalence of overweight and obesity and their correlations with blood lipids/metabolites/enzymes (bio-indicators) in a rural community typical of low-income in remote western China.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was performed in a Muslim ethnic Uyghur rural community in Kashi Prefecture of Xinjiang, about 4,407 km (2,739 miles) away from Beijing. Body mass index (BMI) and major blood bio-indicators (25 total items) were measured and demographic information was collected from 1,733 eligible healthy women aged 21 to 71 yrs, of whom 1,452 had complete data for analysis. More than 92% of the women lived on US$1.00/day or less. According to the Chinese criteria, overweight and obesity were defined as BMI at 24 to <28 kg/m(2) and at ≥ 28 kg/m(2), respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average BMI among these low-income women was 24.0 ± 4.0 (95% CI, 17.5-33.7) kg/m(2). The prevalence of obesity and overweight was high at 15.1% and 28.9%, respectively. Among 25 bio-indicators, BMI correlated positively with the levels of 11 bio-indicators including triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), total cholesterol (TCHOL), glucose (GLU), and uric acid (UA); but negatively with the levels of 5 bio-indicators including high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and apolipoprotein A/B (APO A/B).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first investigation reporting overweight and obesity being common in low-income Muslim Uyghur women, whose BMI correlates with several important blood bio-indicators which are risk factors for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. These findings may help make preventive public health policies in Uyghur communities. To prevent diabetes and cardiovascular diseases in low-income settings, we therefore propose a cost-effective, two-step strategy first to screen for obesity and then to screen persons with obesity for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Shihezi University School of Medicine, Shihezi, Xinjiang, China ; The Key Laboratories for Xinjiang Endemic and Ethnic Diseases, Shihezi University, Shihezi, Xinjiang, China ; Department of Oncology, the First People's Hospital of Suqian, Suqian, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cong
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, JiangXi Mental Health Center, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China.
authors.forename: Jin Qiong
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Zhan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Shihezi University School of Medicine, Shihezi, Xinjiang, China ; The Key Laboratories for Xinjiang Endemic and Ethnic Diseases, Shihezi University, Shihezi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Lan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Shihezi University School of Medicine, Shihezi, Xinjiang, China ; The Key Laboratories for Xinjiang Endemic and Ethnic Diseases, Shihezi University, Shihezi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Preventive Medicine, Shihezi University School of Medicine, Shihezi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Shu Gang
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Shihezi University School of Medicine, Shihezi, Xinjiang, China ; The Key Laboratories for Xinjiang Endemic and Ethnic Diseases, Shihezi University, Shihezi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunization, Xi'an Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Xi'an, Shanxi, China.
authors.forename: Hong Yan
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Shihezi University School of Medicine, Shihezi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Zhi Ping
authors.initials: ZP
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Shihezi University School of Medicine, Shihezi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Xiao Ling
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Shihezi University School of Medicine, Shihezi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Dilixia
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Simayi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Shihezi University School of Medicine, Shihezi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Shihezi University School of Medicine, Shihezi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the First Affiliated University Hospital, Shihezi University School of Medicine, Shihezi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amanguli
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the First Affiliated University Hospital, Shihezi University School of Medicine, Shihezi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Meiliguli
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mohemaiti
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Preventive Medicine, Shihezi University School of Medicine, Shihezi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Ming Xia
authors.initials: MX
authors.lastname: Jing
authors.affiliation: Institute of Humanities, Shihezi University School of Medicine, Shihezi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Kashi Prefecture First People's Hospital, Kashi Prefecture Health Bureau, Kashi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Abudukeyoumu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saimaiti
authors.affiliation: Kashi Prefecture First People's Hospital, Kashi Prefecture Health Bureau, Kashi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Xiao Guang
authors.initials: XG
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Institute of Surgery Research, Daping Hospital, the Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Institute of Surgery Research, Daping Hospital, the Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratories for Xinjiang Endemic and Ethnic Diseases, Shihezi University, Shihezi, Xinjiang, China ; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the First Affiliated University Hospital, Shihezi University School of Medicine, Shihezi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Ying Hong
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Shihezi University School of Medicine, Shihezi, Xinjiang, China ; The Key Laboratories for Xinjiang Endemic and Ethnic Diseases, Shihezi University, Shihezi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Shihezi University School of Medicine, Shihezi, Xinjiang, China ; The Key Laboratories for Xinjiang Endemic and Ethnic Diseases, Shihezi University, Shihezi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Wen Jie
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001053:Apolipoproteins / Q000097:blood; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D001823:Body Composition; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007514:Islam; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood* / Q000191:economics / Q000208:ethnology*; D011203:Poverty; D015995:Prevalence; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D014527:Uric Acid / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D001053:Apolipoproteins; D001786:Blood Glucose; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D014280:Triglycerides; D014527:Uric Acid