Metabolic syndrome among Ghanaian migrants and their homeland counterparts: the RODAM study

Abstract

Abstract Background Metabolic syndrome (MetSyn) is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). T2D and CVD are a major burden among African populations both in Africa and in high-income countries. However, it is unknown whether the prevalence of MetSyn shows geographical differences between a homogenous population residing in different settings in Africa and Europe. Methods We used data from the cross-sectional multi-centre Research on Obesity and Diabetes among African Migrants (RODAM) study that was conducted among Ghanaians aged 25-70 years residing in rural and urban Ghana and in Amsterdam, London and Berlin (n = 5659). MetSyn was defined according to the 2009 harmonized definition. Geographical locations were compared using age-standardised prevalence rates and prevalence ratios (PRs), adjusted for age, education, physical activity and smoking. Results In men, the age-standardised prevalence of MetSyn was 8.3% in rural Ghana and showed a positive gradient through urban Ghana (23.6%, PR = 1.85, 95% confidence interval 1.17-2.92) to Europe, with the highest prevalence in Amsterdam (31.4%; PR = 4.45, 2.94-6.75). In women, there was a rural to urban gradient in MetSyn prevalence (rural Ghana 25%, urban Ghana 34.4%, PR = 1.38, 1.13-1.68), but small differences in MetSyn prevalence between urban Ghanaian and European Ghanaian women (Amsterdam 38.4%). The prevalence rates of the individual MetSyn components showed a positive rural-urban-Europe gradient. However, compared to their urban and European counterparts, a low HDL-C level was significantly more prevalent among rural Ghanaians. Conclusions MetSyn and its components are highly prevalent in Ghana as well as in Ghanaian migrants in Europe. To understand the mechanisms driving the geographical differences in MetSyn, further research is needed, thereby aiming for the reduction of T2D and CVD prevalence in SSA populations. Key messages Metabolic syndrome is more prevalent in urban compared to rural Ghana, and even more prevalent in Ghanaian migrants in Europe. Its components show the same positive gradient, expect for low HDL-C, which shows a negative gradient.