Paradoxical Relationships Between Anthropometric Variables and Phenotypic Expression of the Metabolic Syndrome in Nondiabetic Polynesians of New Caledonia
- Amandine Cournil, PHD1,
- Roselyne Defay, PHD1,
- Annie Lacroux, MSC1,
- Sylvie Barny, MD, PHD2,
- Annick Fontbonne, MD, PHD1 and
- for the CALDIA Study Group
- 1Institute for Research and Development, Montpellier, France
- 2Health and Social Department, Noumea, New Caledonia
- Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Annick Fontbonne, Institute for Research and Development-UR024, 911 Avenue Agropolis, BP64501, 34394, Montpellier, Cedex 5, France. E-mail: fontbon{at}montp.inserm.fr
- FPG, fasting plasma glucose
- HOMA-IR, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance
- SBP, systolic blood pressure
In the multiethnic population of New Caledonia, the CALDIA (CALedonia DIAbetes Mellitus) Study showed that the prevalence of type 2 diabetes was much higher (15.3%) in Polynesians (mostly Wallisians) than in Melanesians or Europeans (8.4%) (1). Polynesians also exhibit high rates of obesity (2,3), known to be a risk factor for insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes (4,5). However, recent analyses of the CALDIA Study showed that despite high indexes of abdominal obesity, Polynesians had low fasting plasma insulin levels and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (6). Since abdominal obesity is usually associated with impaired fasting glucose, dyslipidemia, and/or hypertension, forming the metabolic syndrome (7,8), we investigated whether these features were present in this group, in comparison with Melanesians and Europeans.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—
The CALDIA Study is a large population-based study of diabetes prevalence in New Caledonia. The protocol has been previously described in detail (1). A population-based sample of 9,390 subjects, aged 30–59 years, residing in New Caledonia >10 years were visited at home for capillary blood glucose measurement. Among them, 643 subjects were known to have diabetes or had capillary blood glucose values ≥6.1 mmol/l when fasting or ≥7.8 mmol/l when not fasting (positive screenees). A total of 588 subjects (response rate 91.5%), together with 517 negative screenees matched …
