Pergamon J Clin Epidemiol Vol. 47, No. 8, pp. 837-841, 1994 Copyright 0 1994 Elsevier science Ltd Oft95-4356(94)EOO43-0 Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved 0895-4356/94 $7.00 + 0.00 SEX AND ETHNIC GROUP D IFFEREN CES IN FAT DISTRIBUTION IN YOUNG UNITED KINGDOM SOUTH ASIANS AND EUROPIDS JENNIFER POTTS and DAVID SIMMONS* Sheikh Rashid Diabetes Unit, Radcliffe Infirmary, Woodstock Road, Oxford, England (Received in revised form I March 1994) Abstract-South Asians (Asians) have a high prevalence of non-insulin-dependent diabetes (NIDDM) and a high incidence of ischaemic heart disease (IHD). To investigate whether this predisposition can be detected in young adult life, metabolic risk factors for these diseases were compared in U.K. Europid and Asian students. Among the 80 Europid and 80 Asian students aged between 20 and 23 years and well matched for body mass index (BMI), Asians were found to be relatively hyperglycaemic [5.1 (5.G5.2) vs 4.6 (95% CI: 4.54.7) mmol/l] and hypercholesterolaemic [5.3(5.2-5.4) vs 4.9 (4.8-5.0) mmol/l] and to have a higher waist/hip and subscapular/triceps ratio. The waist/hip ratio was found to be a better predictor of glucose and cholesterol than calliper measurements in both ethnic groups although the subscapular/triceps ratio was independently related to both glucose and cholesterol. Predictors of both IHD and NIDDM are present at an early age in U.K. Asians. Glucose Cholesterol Asians Central obesity Heart disease Diabetes INTRODUCTION The high prevalence of non-insulin-dependent diabetes (NIDDM) [l, 21 and incidence of is- chaemic heart disease (IHD) in South Asians (Asians) [3,4] is associated with excess mortality [5]. We have previously shown that the excess of diabetes in Asians compared to Europids is not due to greater overall obesity as measured by body mass index (BMI) [6] and is present inde- pendently of religion or region of origin [7]. NIDDM in Asians begins earlier [l] and their hyperinsulinaemia is present by the age of 25 years [8]. “Central” fat patterning (“android” or “apple” morphology) is associated with an increased risk of IHD and NIDDM [9], and in population studies, Asians have previously been *All correspondence should he addressed to: Dr D. Sim- mons, Academic Unit, Middlemore Hospital, Otahuhu, Auckland 6, New Zealand. shown to have a high waist/hip ratio in associ- ation with hyperinsulinaemia [lo]. We therefore investigated whether predictors of IHD and NIDDM were present in a young acculturated group of Asians by comparing with well matched Europids. We also attempted to assess the best anthropological measures for differenti- ating the two ethnic groups. METHOD This case-control study included 40 subjects in each sex-ethnic group, and considered Asians as “cases” and Europids as “controls” . Between October and December 1988, students aged between 20 and 23 years at Oxford Polytechnic, Oxford, England were asked to volunteer for the study. None were taking medication or involved in a weight reducing programme and general questions were asked concerning the subjects’ diets. Subjects were fasted overnight (at least 10 837