Obesity in a health center in Guadeloupe (French West Indies). A case control study - Poster abstract

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess prevalence of obesity in a health center in Guadeloupe and analyse the association of known cardiovascular risk factors. MATERIAL AND METHODS: From a total of675 people aged 18 to 75 years attending a health centre between April and September 1999, 79 obese patients (BMI> 30) and 158 non-obese age and sex matched controls were enrolled. Pregnant patients were excluded. Medical histories were obtained by standardised questionnaire. Body mass index (BMI), waist to hip ratio (WHR), and laboratory measurements were done. RESULTS: Among the 675 subjects, prevalenceof overweight (BMI>25 and<30) was 35.4 percent) formen vs 38.9 percent for women and prevalence of obesity (BMI >30) was 9.7 percent for men vs 18.6 percent for women. Results in cases and controls are shown in the table. A logistic regression revealed that sedentary way of life, hypertension and a WHR>0.90 were cardiovascular risk factors significantly and independently associated with obesity. CONCLUSIONS: These results have shown a high percentage of overweight subjects for whom it is necessary to organize the prevention of cardiovascular disease by the control of hypertension, dietary restriction and exercise training. (Au)

Cardiovascular risk factors associated with diabetes in an Indian community of Guadeloupe. A case control study.

Indians of Guadeloupe have an especially high prevalence type 2 diabetes mellitus and a particular susceptibility to coronary heart disease. This case-control study conducted from September 15 to 24, 1997, analysed cardiovascular risk factors associated with diabetes and particularly dyslipidaemia in the Indian community of Guadeloupe. The 172 subjects included 86 diabetic patients of Indian origin and 86 age- and sex-matched non-diabetic controls. All subjects underwent a physical examination by the same observer. Obesity and hypertension were assessed, and fasting lipid concentrations were measured. The body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio were higher among patients than controls: 27.8 vs 25.1 Kg/m2 (p < 0.001) and 0.94 vs 0.90 (p < 0.001). Mean arterial systolic and diastolic pressures were higher for patients than controls (p < 0.001). Median HDL-cholesterol was 1.23 mmol/L for patients vs 1.4 mmol/L for controls (p < 0.001), and median triglycerides were 2.0 vs 1.3 mmol/L (p < 0.001). Mean apolipoprotein B was 1.40 +/- 0.36 g/L for patients vs 1.23 +/- 0.35 g/L for controls (p < 0.001). Our results show slight hypertension, central obesity, a lower plasma HDL-cholesterol concentration, a higher triglyceride concentration, and a higher apolipoprotein B concentration for diabetics. These data would appear to have important implications for the prevention of cardiovascular disease in this population.

Diabetes mellitus and public health in Guadeloupe.

Diabetes mellitus is now among the ten leading causes of death in the Caribbean. Studies of the prevalence of dysglycaemic disorders and risk factors for diabetes are necessary in order to design and implement tailored prevention programmes. The present study is of a representative sample of the adult population in Guadeloupe. The estimated prevalence of diabetes is 5.8% in adults, and that of impaired glucose tolerance is 7.4%. The percentage of insulin-treated patients is low, 14% of diabetics. The principal risk factors of diabetes, as classically recognised, are shown to operate. At the individual level, the presence of a diabetic parent is a greater relative risk factor than obesity. However, considering the large percentage of persons who are obese, obesity seems to be the principal factor at which a primary prevention programme at the community level should be aimed, in order to limit the incidence of hyperglycaemic states.

Diabetes mellitus and public health in Guadeloupe

Diabetes mellitus is now among the ten leading causes of death in the Caribbean. Studies of the prevalence of dysglycaemic disorder and risk factors for diabetes are necessary in order to design and implement tailored prevention programmes. The present study is of a representative sample of the adult population in Guadeloupe. The estimated prevalence of diabetes is 5.8 percent in adults, and that of impaired glucose tolerance is 7.4 percent. The percentage of insulin-treated patients is low, 14 percent of diabetics. The principal risk factors of diabetes,as classically recognised, are shown to operate. At the individual level, the presence of a diabetic parent is greater relative risk factor than obesity. However, considering the large percentage of persons who are obese, obesity seems to be the principal factor at which a primary prevention programme at the community level should be aimed, in order to limit the incidence of hyperglycaemic states (AU)

Diabetes mellitus and public health in Guadeloupe

Diabetes mellitus is now among the ten leading causes of death in the Caribbean. Studies of the prevalence of dysglycaemic disorder and risk factors for diabetes are necessary in order to design and implement tailored prevention programmes. The present study is of a representative sample of the adult population in Guadeloupe. The estimated prevalence of diabetes is 5.8% in adults, and that of impaired glucose tolerance is 7.4%. The percentage of insulin-treated patients is low, 14% of diabetics. The principal risk factors of diabetes,as classically recognised, are shown to operate. At the individual level, the presence of a diabetic parent is greater relative risk factor than obesity. However, considering the large percentage of persons who are obese, obesity seems to be the principal factor at which a primary prevention programme at the community level should be aimed, in order to limit the incidence of hyperglycaemic states

Diabetes mellitus and risk factors in a French West Indian island - abstract

Diabetes mellitus is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in the Caribbean. In order to design and implement specific prevention programmes, it is necessary to estimate the prevalence of glycaemic disorders and study the risk factors involved. This paper presents the results of such a study from a representative sample of the adult population in Guadeloupe. The estimated total prevalence of glycaemic disorders was 13.2 per cent of the adult population over 18 years of age. Impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) appeared in 7.4 per cent of subjects. The prevalence of diabetes mellitus was 5.8 per cent (95 per cent confidence interval: 4.4-7.2). Insulin-dependent patients represent 14 per cent of all diabetics. The associated factors studied were sex, age, obesity, parental diabetes status and ethnicity. The relative risk (RR) for age in non-obese non-diabetic parent patients was 5.1. In older subjects, RR for diabetic parent without obesity was 3.2 and for obesity alone 1.8. For obesity and diabetic parent, RR was 5.0. In this case, there was additivity of these two factors. Except age, the individual predominant factor of Diabetes mellitus was the presence of a diabetic parent; this was more evident in the small and closed Indian group. In the Public Health approach, i.e. taking into account the prevalence of each risk factor in the population, obesity was the most important. It is also the one and only factor which could be reached directly by a prevention programme (AU)

The assays of glycosylated proteins in haemoglobinopathies and their use in screening for diabetes mellitus

We compare the relative validity of HbA1c and fructosamine as indices of long-term blood glucose levels in populations with a common occurence of haemoglobinopathies. In these patients, HbA1c levels are lower than HbA1c levels in non-haemoglobinopathy patients and do not reflect the gludicic status of the patient, unlike the fructosamine assay. This last test has a good potential to be used a a mass screening for diabetes mellitus in these populations (Africa, Caribbean, USA) in either homozygous or heterozygous haemoglobinopathy patients. Moreover, fructosamine presents numerous technical advantages which facilitates the screening (AU)