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. 2011 Mar;35(3):393-400.
doi: 10.1038/ijo.2010.152. Epub 2010 Aug 3.

Asian Americans have greater prevalence of metabolic syndrome despite lower body mass index

L P Palaniappan  1 , E C Wong, J J Shin, S P Fortmann, D S Lauderdale
Affiliations

Asian Americans have greater prevalence of metabolic syndrome despite lower body mass index

L P Palaniappan et al. Int J Obes (Lond). 2011 Mar.

Abstract

Objective: To examine the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and metabolic syndrome for Asian Americans and non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs), given that existing evidence shows racial/ethnic heterogeneity exists in how BMI predicts metabolic syndrome.

Research design and methods: Electronic health records of 43,507 primary care patients aged 35 years and older with self-identified race/ethnicity of interest (Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese or NHW) were analyzed in a mixed-payer, outpatient-focused health-care organization in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Results: Metabolic syndrome prevalence is significantly higher in Asians compared with NHWs for every BMI category. For women at the mean age of 55 and BMI of 25 kg m(-2), the predicted prevalence of metabolic syndrome is 12% for NHW women compared with 30% for Asians; similarly for men, the predicted prevalence of metabolic syndrome is 22% for NHWs compared with 43% of Asians. Compared with NHW women and men with a BMI of 25 kg m(-2), comparable prevalence of metabolic syndrome was observed at BMI of 19.6 kg m(-2) for Asian women and 19.9 kg m(-2) for Asian men. A similar pattern was observed in disaggregated Asian subgroups.

Conclusions: In spite of the lower BMI values and lower prevalence of overweight/obesity than NHWs, Asian Americans have higher rates of metabolic syndrome over the range of BMI. Our results indicate that BMI ranges for defining overweight/obesity in Asian populations should be lower than for NHWs.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Age-Adjusted Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome for Separate BMI Categories by Racial/Ethnic Subgroup
Normal (BMI: 18.5–24.9 kg/m2), Overweight (BMI: 25.0–29.9 kg/m2), Class I Obesity (BMI: 30.0–34.9 kg/m2), Class II Obesity (BMI: 35.0–39.9 kg/m2). The 95% confidence intervals are included.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Predicted Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome by BMI
Asians are compared to NHWs (women, men) for ages 35, 55, and 65 years. The 95% confidence bands are included.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Predicted Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome Components by BMI
Diabetes or IFG, high blood pressure, low high density lipoprotein, and hypertriglyceridemia are compared in Asians and NHWs. The 95% confidence bands are included.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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