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Risk factors for coronary heart disease in two similar Indian population groups, one residing in India, and the other in Sydney, Australia

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 58, pages 751–760 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective: To identify the prevalence of coronary risk factors among South Asian Indians in Australia and India.

Design: Cross-sectional intercountry comparison.

Subjects: Healthy volunteers aged 23–75 y recruited from the Indian community in Sydney Australia (n=125), and their nominated relatives in India, (n=125).

Results: The two groups were of similar background with over 90% of the group in India being siblings, parents or relatives of the group in Australia. There was no difference in the populations between India and Australia with regard to mean age (40±11.5 vs 39±10.3 y), body mass index (BMI) (25±3.3 vs 25±3.5 kg/m2), lipoprotein (a) (178 vs 202 mg/l), total cholesterol (5.3±1.3 vs 5.3±1.2 mmol/l) or triglyceride (1.7±0.8 vs 1.7±0.8 mmol/l). The group in India had higher insulin (median values) (139 vs 83 pmol/l, P=0.0001), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) (0.88±0.08 vs 0.85±0.09, P=0.01), exercise time (23.7±32.7 vs 17.2±23.2 h/week, P=0.07), lower waist (83±10.0 vs 85±11.1 cm, P=0.05) and high-density lipoprotein (0.9±0.3 vs 1.1±0.6 mmol/l, P=0.02). Women in India had lower BMI (22.7±2.9 vs 25.3±4.2 kg/m2, P<0.001), higher insulin (182 vs 90 pmol/l, P<0.001), WHR (0.86±0.08 vs 0.77±0.06, P<0.001)) and prevalence of abdominal obesity (% WHR >0.8, 73 vs 23%, P<0.001; odds of waist >90 cm=2.3, P<0.05). Men in India had the same BMI, lower waist (85.5±8.8 vs 92.9±7.2 cm, P<0.001) and WHR (0.89±0.09 vs 0.93±0.05, P<0.01) but higher insulin (137 vs 76 pmol/l).

Conclusion: The group in Australia (especially women) have a more favourable disease risk profile than those in India. The fact that the groups are of such similar background and partly related, make it unlikely that changes due to migration have a strong genetic bias. In contrast to other studies, the absence here of excessive weight gain on migration may be a key factor in disease risk prevention.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr RS Kalsi and Ms Anupriya Aggarwal for helping in the recruitment of subjects and providing laboratory facilities in India. The invaluable help of Dr J Lingard in correcting the manuscript is greatly acknowledged.

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  1. School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, East Street, Lidcombe, NSW, Australia

    D Mahajan & M A Bermingham

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Mahajan, D., Bermingham, M. Risk factors for coronary heart disease in two similar Indian population groups, one residing in India, and the other in Sydney, Australia. Eur J Clin Nutr 58, 751–760 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601873

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