A METABOLIC SYNDROME IN WHITES AND AFRICAN-AMERICANS - THE ATHEROSCLEROSIS RISK IN COMMUNITIES BASE-LINE STUDY

OBJECTIVE - To describe clustering of hypertriglyceridemia, low HDL ch olesterol, hypertension, diabetes, and hyperuricemia and its associati on with fasting insulin, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and BMI for African -American and white men and women. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS - Obser ved frequencies of clusters were compared with those expected in 14,48 1 participants, 45-64 years of age, of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Com munities (ARIC) baseline sun ey, 1987-1989. Associations of clusters w ith insulin, central adiposity, and overall obesity, as well as with i ndividual abnormalities, were analyzed through multiple logistic regre ssion. RESULTS - Clustering beyond chance was observed in all four sex /ethnic groups (P < 0.001), with 7% of the sample presenting 30% of th e abnormalities in large clusters (greater than or equal to 3 abnormal ities per individual!. The odds ratio (OR) for the association of each abnormality with clustering of the remaining four ranged from 1.6 to 8.8 (P < 0.01). These odds of clustering were notably large in white w omen. Of the abnormalities, hypertriglyceridemia demonstrated the high est OR (5.0-8.8) and diabetes had a lower OR in African-American subje cts than in white subjects (P < 0.001). Insulin, WHR, and BMI were sta tistically associated with clustering in all groups (P < 0.001, except for BMI in African-Americans). CONCLUSIONS - Clustering of abnormalit ies consistent with the concept of a metabolic syndrome is present in both white and African-American subjects.