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Prevalence of metabolic syndrome among Roma: a comparative health examination survey in Hungary

2014; Oxford University Press; Volume: 25; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1093/eurpub/cku157

1464-360X

Zsigmond Kósa, Ágota Moravcsik-Kornyicki, Judit Diószegi, Bayard Roberts, Zoltán Szabó, János Sándor, Róza Ádány,

Autopsy Techniques and Outcomes

Objectives: The objective of our study was to compare the health status of the Roma people with that of the general population in Hungary. Methods: A health examination survey to define the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components was performed in a representative random sample (n = 646) of the Roma population aged 20–64 years living in segregated colonies, and data were compared with that obtained in a representative random sample (n = 1819) of the Hungarian population. Results: The risks for central obesity, hypertension and raised triglyceride level among Roma adults were not different from the Hungarian references, while raised fasting plasma glucose or known type 2 diabetes mellitus (OR = 2.65, 95%CI 1.90–3.69), reduced HDL cholesterol level or treated lipid disorder (OR = 2.15, 95%CI 1.65–2.79) were significantly more frequent in all age groups in the Roma sample. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (OR = 1.37, 95%CI 1.03–1.83) was also significantly higher among Roma than in the general Hungarian population. Conclusions: Besides tackling the socio-economic determinants of the poor health of Roma people, specific public health interventions considering increased genetic susceptibility to metabolic disturbances are needed to improve their health status.