Metabolic Syndrome Risk in Black South African Women Compared to Caucasian Women

Abstract

Rapid urbanisation has led African women to have an obesity prevalence double than that of Caucasian women, and this also holds true for the stroke prevalence in Africans. The study aimed to compare various metabolic syndrome (MS) criteria of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) of body mass index and age-matched African (n=102) and Caucasian women (n=115). More Caucasian (30.4%) than African women (24.8%) had MS. Only 48% of African women had waist circumferences (WC) higher than the IDF cutoff, compared to 62.6% of Caucasians. Caucasian women were significantly taller and heavier and had higher triglycerides, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 activity, and cortisol. African women had significantly higher blood pressure, leptin, fibrinogen and C-reactive protein, and higher odds ratios for having the MS for HDL-cholesterol, blood pressure, and fasting glucose than Caucasians. It is concluded that the IDF WC criterion needs a downward adjustment for African women due to a smaller body size. Lean African women seem to be at higher risk for MS than Caucasians. South Africa needs to stem the increasing rates of type 2 diabetes by decreasing obesity and by education (unschooled African women showed a 4.8 times higher likelihood of having MS than schooled women).