Steno Diabetes Center, Gentofte, Denmark.
Department of Public Health, Centre for Arctic Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
J Epidemiol Community Health. 2017 Jun;71(6):536-543. doi: 10.1136/jech-2016-207813. Epub 2017 Jan 13.
Ethnic variation in abdominal fat distribution may explain differences in cardiometabolic risk between populations. However, the ability of anthropometric measures to quantify abdominal fat is not clearly understood across ethnic groups. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between anthropometric measures and visceral (VAT) and subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue (SAT) in Inuit, Africans and Europeans.
We combined cross-sectional data from 3 studies conducted in Greenland, Kenya and Denmark using similar methodology. A total of 5275 individuals (3083 Inuit, 1397 Africans and 795 Europeans) aged 17-95 years with measures of anthropometry and ultrasonography of abdominal fat were included in the study. Multiple regression models with fractional polynomials were used to analyse VAT and SAT as functions of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, waist-to-height ratio and body fat percentage.
The associations between conventional anthropometric measures and abdominal fat distribution varied by ethnicity in almost all models. Europeans had the highest levels of VAT in adjusted analyses and Africans the lowest with ethnic differences most apparent at higher levels of the anthropometric measures. Similar ethnic differences were seen in the associations with SAT for a given anthropometric measure.
Conventional anthropometric measures like BMI and waist circumference do not reflect the same amount of VAT and SAT across ethnic groups. Thus, the obesity level at which Inuit and Africans are at increased cardiometabolic risk is likely to differ from that of Europeans.
腹部脂肪分布的种族差异可能解释了不同人群中心血管代谢风险的差异。然而，不同种族群体对人体测量指标定量评估腹部脂肪的能力并不明确。本研究旨在探讨人体测量指标与因纽特人、非洲人和欧洲人内脏（VAT）和皮下腹部脂肪（SAT）之间的关联。
我们结合了在格陵兰、肯尼亚和丹麦进行的 3 项研究的横断面数据，使用类似的方法。共有 5275 名年龄在 17-95 岁之间的个体（3083 名因纽特人、1397 名非洲人、795 名欧洲人）纳入了本研究，这些个体均进行了人体测量和腹部脂肪超声检查。使用分数多项式的多元回归模型来分析 VAT 和 SAT 作为身体质量指数（BMI）、腰围、腰臀比、腰高比和体脂百分比的函数。
在几乎所有模型中，传统人体测量指标与腹部脂肪分布的相关性因种族而异。调整分析后，欧洲人 VAT 水平最高，非洲人最低，且在人体测量指标较高水平时，种族差异最为明显。在与 SAT 的关联中，也观察到了与给定人体测量指标相似的种族差异。
像 BMI 和腰围这样的传统人体测量指标并不能反映不同种族群体中相同数量的 VAT 和 SAT。因此，因纽特人和非洲人发生心血管代谢风险增加的肥胖水平可能与欧洲人不同。
