Evaluation of ethnic differences in cardiometabolic risk in children.

BACKGROUND: In adults, cardiometabolic conditions manifest differently by ethnicity with South Asians particularly predisposed. Whether these differences arise in childhood remains narrowly explored.

OBJECTIVES: We examined whether children of different ethnicities display differences in cardiometabolic risk (CMR).

METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted among 5,557 children (3-11 years). Multivariable linear regression models adjusted for age, sex, z-BMI, and demographic factors were used to estimate differences in CMR outcomes between children with parents that self-reported European ancestry (reference group) and one of thirteen other ethnicities (African, Arab, East Asian, Latin American, South Asian, Southeast Asian, Mixed Ethnicities, and Other). The primary outcome was a CMR score, calculated as the sum of age- and sex-standardized waist circumference, systolic blood pressure (SBP), glucose, log-triglycerides, and inverse high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), divided by √5.

RESULTS: Lower mean CMR scores were observed among children with African (β= -0.62, 95% CI: -0.92; -0.32) and East Asian (β= -0.41, 95% CI: -0.68, -0.15) ancestry compared to children with European ancestry. Children with South Asian ancestry had higher SBP (β= 2.25, 95% CI: 1.27, 3.22) and non-HDL-C (β= 0.17, 95% CI: 0.07, 0.26) than children with European ancestry.

CONCLUSIONS: Ethnic differences in CMR were observed in early and middle childhood.