Levels of cardiovascular risk factors in Japanese people living in the UK.

AIM

We set out to compare levels of cardiovascular risk factors (blood pressure, body mass and serum lipids) in Japanese people living in the UK with those of Japanese people living in Japan and also with residents of the UK.

METHODS

Blood samples were taken from individuals attending routine health screening at three centres. The study group comprised 879 men and 723 women born in Japan but living in the UK; 21 248 Japanese men and 8282 Japanese women living in Japan; and 46 623 Caucasian men and 4914 Caucasian women living in the UK.

RESULTS

In both men and women we found significantly higher mean blood pressures and cholesterol levels and lower mean triglyceride levels in the expatriate Japanese compared with those still living in Japan. These differences were independent of exercise, smoking and drinking habits and were not related to self-reported levels of stress. They were present even in those Japanese who had been living in the UK for less than 1 year. Higher cholesterol levels were associated with consumption of a Western diet in women but not in men, whereas mean triglyceride levels were lower in men, but not women, eating Western food.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that the levels of risk factors such as blood pressure and serum lipids are for the most part culturally, rather than genetically, determined.