Incidence of metabolic syndrome and related diseases in the Khisêdjê indigenous people of the Xingu, Central Brazil, from 1999-2000 to 2010-2011

Yang AC, Zeng JL, Yang YY, Lo YT, Chang YH, Pai TH. Metabolic Syndrome-Related Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behavior among Indigenous Communities in Taiwan: A Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND

Metabolic syndrome is characterized by cardiovascular and chronic disease risk factors that cause health problems. Inequalities in medical resources and information present a challenge in this context. Indigenous communities may be unaware of their risk for metabolic syndrome.

AIMS

This study explored factors associated with metabolic syndrome-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors among Taiwanese indigenous communities.

METHODS

For this descriptive cross-sectional survey, we collected anthropometric data and used a self-administered questionnaire between 1 July 2016, to 31 July 2017, from a convenience sample of an indigenous tribe in eastern Taiwan. The response rate was 92%.

RESULTS

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was as high as 71%, and the average correct knowledge rate was 39.1%. The participants' self-management attitudes were mainly negative, and the self-management behaviors were low in this population. Stepwise regression analysis showed that knowledge, attitude, age, perception of physical condition, and body mass index, which accounted for 65% of the total variance, were the most predictive variables for self-management behaviors.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first study to report the relationship between metabolic syndrome knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors in an indigenous population. There is an urgent need to develop safety-based MetS health education programs that can provide access to the right information and enhance self-management approaches to lessen the growing burden of MetS in indigenous communities.

The impact of urbanisation on the cardiometabolic health of Indigenous Brazilian peoples: a systematic review and meta-analysis, and data from the Brazilian Health registry

BACKGROUND

Indigenous Brazilian peoples have faced an unparalleled increase in the rate of cardiovascular diseases following rapid nutritional transition to more urban diets. We aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the association between urbanisation (including data from Amazon rainforest deforestation) and cardiometabolic risk factors and outcomes.

METHODS

In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus for articles published in any language between the year 1950 and March 10, 2022. Studies conducted in Indigenous Brazilian adults that evaluated metabolic health were included. Data for deforestation was obtained by the Amazon Deforestation Monitoring Project. Cardiovascular mortality was obtained from the Brazilian Health registry. Two independent reviewers evaluated studies for risk of bias, according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses recommendations. The main outcomes assessed were the prevalence of obesity and related cardiometabolic risk factors among Indigenous Brazilian peoples and its association with urbanisation. Summary data were extracted from published reports for the meta-analyses. We calculated pooled estimates of the prevalence of each cardiometabolic outcome by using a random-effects model (DerSimonian-Laird method). This study is registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews, CRD42021285480.

FINDINGS

46 studies were identified, including a total of 20 574 adults from at least 33 Indigenous Brazilian ethnicities. Meta-analyses of the prevalence of obesity showed that there were higher rates of obesity (midwest region: 23% [95% CI 17-29]; and south region 23% [13-34]) and hypertension (south region: 30% [10-50]) in Indigenous peoples living in urban regions of Brazil, while the lowest rates of obesity (11% [95% CI 8-15]) and hypertension (1% [1-2]) were observed in those in the less urbanised (north) regions of Brazil. The prevalence of obesity was 3·5 times higher in participants living in urbanised Indigenous territories (28%) than in those living in lands with >80% native Amazon rainforest (8%). In meta-analyses that evaluated blood pressure level, there was no incremental change in blood pressure with ageing in Indigenous peoples who lived according to traditional lifestyle, in contrast to those living in urbanised regions. For Indigenous men with traditional lifestyles, systolic blood pressure changed from 109·8 mm Hg to 104·4 mm Hg between the youngest (<30 years) and the oldest (>60 years) age groups, and diastolic blood pressure changed from 69·8 mm Hg to 66·1 mm Hg. For Indigenous women with traditional lifestyles, systolic blood pressure was 100·0 mm Hg for the youngest age group with no changes for older age groups, and diastolic blood pressure was 62 mm Hg for the youngest age group with no changes for older age groups. For Indigenous men with urbanised lifestyles, systolic blood pressure changed from 117·3 mm Hg to 124·9 mm Hg between the youngest and the oldest age groups, and diastolic blood pressure changed from 72·7 mm Hg to 76·4 mm Hg. For Indigenous women with urbanised lifestyles, systolic blood pressure changed from 110·0 mm Hg to 116·0 mm Hg between the youngest and the oldest age groups, and diastolic blood pressure changed from 68·3 mm Hg to 74·0 mm Hg. For the years 1997 and 2019, the cardiovascular mortality rate in individuals living in the southeast region (the most urbanised) was 2·5 times greater than that observed in the north. Conversely, the incremental rise in cardiovascular mortality in the past two decades among Indigenous Brazilians living in the north or northeast (2·7 times increase) stands in stark contrast to the stable rates in those living in already urbanised regions.

INTERPRETATION

The macrosocial changes of Indigenous peoples' traditional ways of living consequent to urbanisation are associated with an increased prevalence of adverse cardiometabolic outcomes. These data highlight the urgent need for environmental policies to ensure the conservation of the natural ecosystem within Indigenous territories, as well as the development of socio-health policies to improve the cardiovascular health of Indigenous Brazilians peoples living in urban areas.

FUNDING

None.

Mortalidade proporcional nos povos indígenas no Brasil nos anos 2000, 2010 e 2018

RESUMO O objetivo do estudo foi analisar a mortalidade indígena no Brasil em 2000, 2010 e 2018. Estudo descritivo com dados do Sistema de Informação sobre Mortalidade. Calculou-se a mortalidade proporcional entre indígenas e restante da população brasileira, segundo idade, sexo, causa e regiões do Brasil. A proporção de óbitos em indígenas menores de 1 ano em 2000, 2010 e 2018 foi de 15,3%, 17,7% e 16,2%; e no restante do Brasil, foi de 7,2%, 3,5% e 2,7% respectivamente. A proporção de óbitos a partir de 50 anos nos indígenas nos mesmos anos foi de 47,0%, 48,1% e 52,0%; e no restante do Brasil, foi de 66,8%, 74,4% e 79,4%. Em 2018, indígenas menores de 1 ano morreram mais de afecções perinatais (39,4%), doenças infecciosas e parasitárias (10,1%) e causas externas (9,8%). Em menores de 1 ano do restante da população brasileira, essas causas corresponderam a 57,8%, 3,8% e 2,8%. Indígenas acima de 50 anos morreram mais por doenças circulatórias (28,6%), respiratórias (15,4%) e neoplasias (14,6%); e no restante da população brasileira, essas causas representaram 31,5%, 13,6% e 19,0%. Evidenciaram-se desigualdades em saúde e piores indicadores nos povos indígenas no Brasil.

Metabolic syndrome risk unexpectedly predicted by traditional food consumption: shifting food systems and health among the Awajún of the Peruvian Amazon

BACKGROUND

Dietary changes, especially declines in traditional food diversity and increases in the consumption of processed foods, have previously been shown to increase the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.

AIM

We evaluated the prevalence and risk factors for metabolic syndrome in four Awajún communities in the Peruvian Amazon.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

A total of 222 participants answered a socioeconomic questionnaire, a 24-h food recall, and completed a physical examination for metabolic syndrome diagnosis. A Poisson regression with robust variance was used in the statistical analysis of risk factors for metabolic syndrome.

RESULTS

We found an overall prevalence of 24% for metabolic syndrome. Being female, increased age and body mass index were significant risk factors for metabolic syndrome. Surprisingly, risk more than doubled with the ratio of traditional foods. However, this study revealed that there are fewer traditional foods being consumed in this study compared to prior studies among the Awajún.

CONCLUSION

We suggest that the unexpected relationship between traditional food consumption and metabolic syndrome may be due to substantial reductions in the diversity of traditional foods. Currently available traditional foods are primarily high in carbohydrates and are supplemented with cheap, non-perishable, and carbohydrate heavy market food items.

Anthropometric and metabolic profile of a Brazilian Amerindian group: The Xikrin (Mebengôkre)

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to describe the metabolic and anthropometric profile of the Xikrin (Mebengôkre), an indigenous group.

METHODS

A total of 363 subjects (55.1% women) aged 18 years or older were evaluated. The variables analyzed were age, body weight and height, waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, triglyceride level, and total cholesterol level.

RESULTS

A high prevalence of obesity (36.5%) and central obesity (88.1%), mainly among women (46.9% and 96.2%, respectively), was found among the Xikrin (Mebengôkre). Impaired fasting glycemia and diabetes were found in 4.5% and 3.8% of adults, respectively. Twenty-one percent of adults had dyslipidemia and 9.3% had hypertension.

CONCLUSIONS

The high prevalence of excess weight (overweight and obesity) and central obesity, especially in women, was the most significant finding of this study among the Xikrin (Mebengôkre).

Prevalence of overweight and obesity in the adult indigenous population in Brazil: A systematic review with meta-analysis

To carry out a systematic review to identify the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the adult indigenous population in Brazil. The databases used were PubMed, Scopus, Virtual Health Library (VHL), and Science Direct, with the following search strategy: "overweight" OR "obesity" AND "indigenous" OR "tribe" AND "Brazil". For the meta-analysis, RStudio^® software was used. Were 22 articles included. The combined effect of the meta-analysis studies showed a global prevalence of overweight and obesity of 45%. Approximately half (45%) of indigenous Brazilian adults have excess weight. These findings highlight the need to implement public policies for the prevention and treatment of these morbidities.

Prevalence of Self-Reported Chronic Diseases and Health Services Utilization by Ethnic Minorities in Manaus Metropolitan Region

Objectives

To assess the prevalence of, and associated factors to, self-reported chronic diseases and health care utilization by ethnicity in the Manaus Metropolitan Region.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional, population-based survey from May through August 2015. Using probabilistic sampling in three stages, we recruited adults aged ≥18 years. Ethnicity was self-identified as White, Black, Yellow, Brown (Brazilian mixed-race), and Indigenous. We calculated adjusted prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% CI of chronic diseases and health service utilization for each ethnic minority and compared the data using Poisson regression with data from White respondents.

Results

In this study, we interviewed 4,001 people. Of these, 15.9% were White, 7.5% Black, 3.4% Yellow, 72.1% Brown, and 1.0% Indigenous. Indigenous respondents had the highest prevalence of self-reported hypertension (29.4%), diabetes (12.3%) and hypercholesterolemia (17.0%) among the ethnic respondent groups. Compared with the White population, Browns had less health insurance coverage (PR=.76; 95% CI: .62-.93) and reported hypertension (PR=.84; 95% CI: .72-0.98) and diabetes (PR=.69; 95% CI: .51-.94) less frequently. Yellows visited the doctor more frequently than Whites (PR=1.13; 95% CI: 1.04-1.22), with no significant difference in prevalence of diseases.

Conclusions

Indigenous respondents had higher prevalence rates of the investigated diseases. Compared with Whites, Brown respondents had lower rates of self-reported arterial hypertension and diabetes, as well as lower rates of private health insurance coverage.