Abstract
Differences in obesity and body fat distribution across gender and race/ethnicity have been extensively described. We sought to replicate these differences and evaluate newly emerging data from the All of Us Research Program (AoU). We compared body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio from the baseline physical examination, and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) from the electronic health record in up to 88,195 Non-Hispanic White (NHW), 40,770 Non-Hispanic Black (NHB), 35,640 Hispanic, and 5,648 Asian participants. We compared AoU sociodemographic variable distribution to National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data and applied the pseudo-weighting method for adjusting selection biases of AoU recruitment. Our findings replicate previous observations with respect to gender differences in BMI. In particular, we replicate the large gender disparity in obesity rates among NHB participants, in which obesity and mean BMI are much higher in NHB women than NHB men (33.34 kg/m2 versus 28.40 kg/m2 respectively; p<2.22x10-308). The overall age-adjusted obesity prevalence in AoU participants is similar overall but lower than the prevalence found in NHANES for NHW participants. ALT was higher in men than women, and lower among NHB participants compared to other racial/ethnic groups, consistent with previous findings. Our data suggest consistency of AoU with national averages related to obesity and suggest this resource is likely to be a major source of scientific inquiry and discovery in diverse populations.
Highlights
Type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease are among the most pressing health issues of our time, responsible for major mortality and financial burdens across the globe [1,2,3,4]
Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) shows that the prevalence of obesity is highest among Non-Hispanic Black women, and that a large gender disparity in obesity exists among NonHispanic Black individuals compared with other groups [5]
All of Us Research Program (AoU) is a large, collaborative initiative sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to recruit one million or more individuals willing and able to answer questionnaires (Participantprovided information [PPI]), provide biospecimens and physical measurements, share their electronic health record (EHR) data, and authorize re-contact
Summary
Type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease are among the most pressing health issues of our time, responsible for major mortality and financial burdens across the globe [1,2,3,4] These affect most human populations, these diseases and their risk factors, such as obesity and fat distribution, exhibit notable disparities across different racial/ethnic groups in the United States (US) and globally [5, 6]. Our secondary objective was to examine how nationally representative AoU participants are with regard to obesity and body fat distribution, given the potential biases introduced by the recruiting methodology and other factors This information could help inform future epidemiological studies using the AoU data with respect to assessing potential biases and the generalizability of findings
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