Prevalence of diabetes, obesity, hypertension and hyperlipidemia in the central area of Argentina

OBJECTIVES

There is little information available about the prevalence of chronic metabolic diseases in many Latin American countries. Between 1995 and 1998, studies on the prevalence of obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and diabetes were carried out in four cities located in central Argentina: Dean Funes, Oncativo, Pehuajo and Venado Tuerto. The data provided by these surveys are reanalysed here in order to determine prevalence of obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and diabetes using new epidemiological criteria.

METHODS

Representative samples of the population, based on a multistage probabilistic sampling design, were taken from each of the four cities. The sample size was calculated to obtain a precision of 4% for the prevalence assessment. The subjects included were aged 20 years and over. Standardization of the prevalence rates used the entire study sample as the reference population.

RESULTS

Age-standardised prevalence rates for the cities ranged between 22.4% and 30.8% for obesity, 27.9% and 43.6% for hypertension, 24.2% and 36.4% for hyperlipidemia, and 6.5% and 7.7% for diabetes mellitus. All these prevalences increased with age. 58.1% of the obese subjects and 51.2% of the diabetic subjects had hypertension, while 43.2% of the obese subjects and 52.8% of the diabetic subjects had hyperlipidemia.

CONCLUSIONS

While the prevalence of diabetes mellitus was between 6% and 8%, the prevalence of obesity was close to 26% and hypertension and hyperlipidemia affected one third of the population. These data can be considered as indicative of the prevalences of these four diseases in the population aged 20 years and over, in the central region of Argentina.

[Obesity prevalence in Latin America]

Obesity is a public health problem that affects both the developed and the developing countries. Its aetiology includes genetic factors and lifestyle (diet and physical activity). The studies of its prevalence in different strata and localisations of the Latin American countries varied between 22-26% in Brazil, 21% in Mexico, 10% in Ecuador, 3-22% in Peru, 22-35% in Paraguay and 24-27% in Argentina, although these data should not be extrapolated to the general population. The comparative national studies made it possible to establish that: 1.- The prevalence of preobesity plus obesity was above 20% in 17 of the 20 countries. 2.- There is a trend to increase in the prevalence of obesity. 3.- The relation of obesity between women/men is significantly higher in females in the majority of countries. In any case, although the validity of these rates must be examined with care, since the goals of evaluation and comparison with the corresponding patterns might differ, it can be observed that the epidemiological transition in these countries leads to a growing number of persons with obesity.

Obesity prevalence and trends in Latin-American countries

The prevalence of obesity in some lower-income and transitional countries is as high as, or even higher than, the prevalence reported in developed nations, and it seems to be increasing rapidly. In most countries, the prevalence of obesity is higher in women than in men, and higher in urban than in rural areas. Preobesity prevalence is very high in most Latin-American countries. Sixty per cent of the population in Venado Tuerto (Argentina) has a body mass index (BMI) of > or = 25 kg m-2, as do 35% of the population in Brazil, 60% in Mexico, 68% in Paraguay and 53% in Peru. Trends are available from Brazil, where marked increases in the prevalence of obesity have occurred, except in women from higher-income groups. Women from the higher-income quartiles in urban regions experienced a marked reduction in obesity prevalence from 1989 to 1997 (12.8 to 9.2%). Although data in children is scant, the prevalence of undernutrition is decreasing and the prevalence of obesity is high also in Latin-American children. The prevalence of obesity is high even in minority Indian groups. Rapid changes in dietary structure (in particular associated with urbanization) and major changes in the levels of physical activity, both occupationally and during leisure time, may explain these changes.