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Obesity, high risk for CVD common in young Hispanics
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Elevated BMI is common in Hispanic men and women and is associated with excess risk factors for CVD, according to new research in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Investigators reviewed data from a study of 16,344 adults of diverse Hispanic origin in Chicago, Miami, San Diego and the Bronx, N.Y. The average age of the men was 40 years and the average age of the women was 41 years. About 37% of participants identified themselves as Mexican, 20% Cuban, 16% Puerto Rican, 10% Dominican and 17% Central/South American or multiple backgrounds.
Eighteen percent of women and 12% of men had class 2 or 3 obesity, which was defined as a BMI ≥35 kg/m2. Of those, the prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, low HDL and high C-reactive protein was 40% or higher during the fourth decade of life, according to the study results.
Seven percent of women and 4% of men had class 3 obesity, defined as a BMI ≥40 kg/m2. The relative prevalence of hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidemia was more than 50% greater in men compared with women. Sex differences in prevalence of these CVD risk factors were approximately 20% or less at among men and women at lower BMI levels, according to the researchers.
“This is a heavy burden being carried by young people who should be in the prime of life,” Robert C. Kaplan, PhD, professor of epidemiology and population health at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, said in a press release. “Young people, and especially men — who had the highest degree of future cardiovascular disease risk factors in our study — are the very individuals who tend to neglect the need to get regular checkups, adopt healthy lifestyle behaviors, and seek the help of health care providers.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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