Abdominal Adiposity Values Associated With Established Body Mass Indexes in White, Black and Hispanic Americans. A Study From the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Purpose: To determine whether white, black and hispanic young (17–39 y) and middle-aged (40–59 y) adults, and elderly (60–90 y) Americans have the same values of abdominal adiposity (estimated from waist circumference (WC) at the established levels of overweight (body mass index, BMI 25–29.9 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI≥30 kg/m2). Methods: Data (n=16,120) from the US Third National Health and Nutrition Survey were utilized. Age-adjusted linear regression analyses were used to estimate gender- and ethnic-specific WC values corresponding to overweight and obesity. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were also employed to determine the choices of WC values corresponding to the established BMI cut-off points. With ROC, gender- and ethnic-specific cut-off points producing the best combination of sensitivity and specificity were selected as optimal thresholds for WC values corresponding to the established BMI cut-off points. Results: WC values associated with the established BMI were lower in blacks and hispanics compared with whites. In men, the WC values that corresponded to overweight ranged from 89 to 106 cm, from 84 to 95 cm, and from 87 to 97 cm in whites, blacks and hispanics, respectively. The corresponding values for obesity ranged from 99 to 110 cm, from 96 to 107 cm, and from 97 to 108 cm. The WC values that corresponded to overweight in women ranged from 82 to 91 cm, from 81 in to 90 cm, and from 83 to 92 cm in whites, blacks and hispanics, respectively. The analogous values for obesity ranged from 94 to 101 cm, from 93 to 100 cm, and from 94 to 101 cm. Conclusions: The lack of higher WC values in blacks (particularly women) and hispanics at the same levels of BMI for whites challenges previously held assumptions regarding the role of abdominal adiposity in cardiovascular disease experienced by non-whites. Defining the anthropometric variables that satisfactorily describe reasons for ethnic differences in cardiovascular disease is one of the challenges for future research

Ethnic differences in the association between cardiovascular risk factors and psychological distress in a population study in the Netherlands

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is growing body of evidence of an association between cardiovascular risk factors and depressive and anxiety symptoms. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether these associations are similar in ethnic minority groups.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A random urban population sample, aged 18+, stratified by ethnicity (484 native Dutch subjects, 383 Turkish-Dutch subjects, and 316 Moroccan-Dutch subjects), in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, was interviewed with the Kessler Psychological Distress scale (K10) in combination with measurements of several cardiovascular risk factors. The association of psychological distress (defined as a K10 score above cut-off of 20) with cardiovascular risk factors (obesity, abdominal obesity, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, low HDL cholesterol levels or diabetes), ethnicity and their interaction was analyzed using logistic regression analyses, stratified by gender and adjusted for age.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Cardiovascular risk factors were not significantly associated with psychological distress in any of the gender/ethnic groups, with the exception of a positive association of obesity and hypertension with psychological distress in native Dutch women and a negative association of hypertension and psychological distress in Turkish men. Interaction terms of cardiovascular risk factors and ethnicity were approaching significance only in the association of obesity with the K10 in women.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In this cross-sectional multi-ethnic adult population sample the majority of the investigated cardiovascular risk factors were not associated with psychological distress. The association of obesity with psychological distress varies by gender and ethnicity. Our findings indicate that the prevention of obesity and psychological distress calls for an integrated approach in native Dutch women, but not necessarily in Turkish-Dutch and Moroccan-Dutch women, in whom these problems may be targeted separately.</p

Invasion history, habitat preferences and phenology of the invasive ladybird Harmonia axyridis in Belgium

Harmonia axyridis Pallas (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) is native to Asia, and was widely introduced as a biocontrol agent of aphids and coccids in Europe and North America. In Europe, H. axyridis is considered to be an invasive alien species because of its potential to disrupt native ladybird communities. Since 1999, the Belgian Ladybird Working Group mapped all Belgian Coccinellidae and recorded data on substratum plants and habitat. The first feral H. axyridis population in Belgium was recorded in 2001, but the expansion rate is decreasing because it now colonised the whole country. Recorded occupancy in Belgium showed an average rate of increase of 189% between 2002 and 2006. In Belgium, H. axyridis occurred in a wide range of habitats, including those of high conservation value. However, habitat and land cover analysis showed that H. axyridis is more frequently found in urbanised landscapes than in semi-natural landscapes. A niche overlap analysis based on plant use data showed that the potential to affect native species is higher for generalist, deciduous and coniferous tree ladybird species than for heathland and wetland specialist species. Phenology data showed that H. axyridis is able to reproduce later in the year than native species. Based on recorded distribution, ecology and phenology, we discuss the potential of H. axyridis to disrupt native ladybird assemblages in Belgium