Prevalence of obesity and cardiometabolic risk factors among Alavi Bohra adult women

Background

Prevalence rates and the relationship between various invasive and non-invasive markers of cardiometabolic health for Indian Alavi Bohra women are essential for policy formulation.

Methods and materials

This pilot cross-sectional study was conducted in the Alavi Bohra community, Vadodara City, wherein mothers having children under 6 years were enrolled in the study (for the current paper, only mothers with children more than 6 months of age (n = 106) are included to exclude the immediate impact of post-partum weight regain) using purposive sampling based on consent (IECHR/FCSc/PhD/2021/124). Data were elicited on anthropometry (weight, height, waist circumference, hip circumference); body mass index (BMI), waist–hip ratio (WHR), waist–height ratio (WHtR), and conicity index (CI) were calculated using standard formulas, and body composition (body fat (%), water (%), muscle mass (%), BMR (kCal)) was assessed using bioelectrical impedance. Biochemical profile (fasting blood sugar (FBS), and lipid profile) was done using standard techniques on a sub-sample of 84 women who gave consent. Data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel and JASP software.

Objective

The present pilot study, aimed at assessing anthropometric indices, (weight, height, BMI, WC, WHR, WHtR, conicity index), body composition (body fat %, water %, muscle mass %, BMR kCal), and biochemical parameters (fasting blood sugar (FBS, lipid profile) from of Alavi Bohra women.

Results

High prevalence of obesity (56.6%) and overweight (17.9%) were recorded as per the Asia Pacific classification (WHO, 2000), with a mean BMI of 26.28 ± 5.18 kg/m². Waist circumference averaged 89.57 ± 11.33 cm, and the waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) was 0.58 ± 0.08 indicating a risk of central adiposity, which was supported by a high mean value of the conicity index (CI) (1.29 ± 0.10), wherein 92% had high value (> 1.18), (Valdez, 1991). Pearson’s correlation analysis revealed strong positive correlations between various body composition parameters, highlighting their interdependence (p < .001). Prevalence of prediabetes (83.4, diabetes (11.9%), and dyslipidemia (62% elevated LDL) also indicated high cardiometabolic risk factors among these women. The results of the odds ratio (19 with a range of 6.95–51.93) between CI and FBS indicated that women with a higher CI were 19 times at higher risk of having diabetes or prediabetes also indicating a strong relationship between non-invasive (CI) and invasive (FBS) parameters.

Conclusions

The results of the pilot study indicate many cardio-metabolic risk factors among Muslim women and indicate that the conicity index is the predictor of both prediabetes and diabetes, which needs further validation from a larger Indian population.