CVD Risk Factors in the Ukrainian Roma and Meta-Analysis of Their Prevalence in Roma Populations Worldwide.

Matea Zajc Petranović,David A Rizzieri,Dharshan Sivaraj,Julia Kalászi,John Q Lin,Marijana Peričić Salihović,Marianna Kalászi,Anita Stojanović Marković,Tatjana Škarić-Jurić,Željka Celinšćak,Sanica Mehta,Nina Smolej Narančić,Jill Burleson,Ashley Elizabeth Rizzieri

doi:10.3390/jpm11111138

Abstract

The Roma population suffers from severe poverty, social exclusion, and some of the worst health conditions in the industrialized world. Herein, we report on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in the Ukrainian Roma and present a meta-analysis of the prevalence of CVD risk factors in 16 Roma populations worldwide. The meta-analyses of CVD risk factors in Roma (n = 16,552) vs. non-Roma majority population of the same country (n = 127,874) included publicly available data. Ukrainian field survey included 339 adults of both sexes and outcomes of interest were hypertension, body mass index (BMI), smoking, education, and employment status. Furthermore, 35.7% of the Ukrainian Roma were hypertensive, 69.3% unemployed, and 48.4% never went to school. Ukrainian Roma women were more likely to be underweight and more prone to be hypertensive, with odds of hypertension increasing with age, BMI, and positive smoking status. Meta-analyses showed that, in comparison with non-Roma worldwide, the Roma bear significantly higher risk factor loads related to smoking (OR = 2.850), diabetes (OR = 1.433), abdominal obesity (OR = 1.276), and metabolic syndrome (OR = 1.975), with lower loads for hypertension (OR = 0.607) and BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 (OR = 0.872). To conclude, the CVD risk factors which are more common in Roma than in the majority population may reflect their poor health-related behaviors and inadequate access to health education.

Highlights

Undernutrition measured by means of body mass index (BMI) was found in 12.7% of Roma (2.5 times was more frequent in women than in men), while overweight was found in 20.7% and obesity in 13.9% of the Roma
In all thirteen countries analyzed, smoking was more prevalent in Roma than in non-Roma majority population, heterogeneity was high (I2 = 97.9%), and the odds ratios (ORs) for random effect model amounted to 2.850
cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors showed that Roma from Ukraine and 15 other countries were more prone to smoke and develop diabetes or abdominal obesity, while less prone to hypertension, but high heterogeneity limits the interpretation of these results

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. The Roma population (Gypsies) is a transnational minority population of a common. Indian origin present in most of the world countries. 15,000,000 people, most of whom live in Europe (12,000,000). They are an example of a founder population with persistent, centuries-long socio-cultural isolation. There are diverse groups that term Roma includes: Gypsies, Travellers, Manouches, Ashkali, Sinti, and Boyash/Bayash [1]

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