Racial and Ethnic Heterogeneity in the Association Between Total Cholesterol and Pediatric Obesity

Laurens Holmes, Alex LaHurd, Emily Wasson, Lavisha McClarin and Kirk Dabney
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Laurens Holmes: Nemours/A.I. duPont Children’s Hospital, Nemours Office of Health Equity & Inclusion, 2200 Concord Pike, 8th Floor, Wilmington, DE 19803, USA
Alex LaHurd: Nemours/A.I. duPont Children’s Hospital, Nemours Office of Health Equity & Inclusion, 2200 Concord Pike, 8th Floor, Wilmington, DE 19803, USA
Emily Wasson: Biology Department, Gettysburg College, 300 North Washington Street, Gettysburg, PA 17325, USA
Lavisha McClarin: Epidemiology and Biostatistics Department, School of Public Health, University of Maryland-College Park, College Park, MD 20742, USA
Kirk Dabney: Nemours/A.I. duPont Children’s Hospital, Nemours Office of Health Equity & Inclusion, 2200 Concord Pike, 8th Floor, Wilmington, DE 19803, USA

IJERPH, 2015, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Total cholesterol (TC) directly correlates with overweight/obesity, but it remains unclear if this association varies by race and ethnicity. We assessed the association as well as the racial/ethnic heterogeneity in this relationship. Data on 63,863 children were assessed using electronic medical records between 2010 and 2011. A cross-sectional design was utilized with log-binomial regression model and chi-squared statistic to examine the data. Overall, abnormal total cholesterol (ATC) was 7.5% (4812). Significant racial variability in ATC was observed: Black/African American (AA) (7.4%), White (7.0%), Asian (5.1%) and some other race (SOR) children (11.3%), ? 2 (5) = 141.5, p < 0.0001. Black/AA (34.7%) and SOR children (41.2%) were predominantly overweight/obese, unlike the Asian children, (25.8%), ? 2 (5) = 324.6, p < 0.0001. The BMI percentile was highest among SOR (69.0 ± 28.6) and Black/AA children (65.2 ± 29.1), but lowest among Asian children (55.7 ± 31.5). A significant racial variability was also observed in weight, with the highest mean among Black/AA children (36.8kg ± 23.0) and the lowest among Asian children (28.7kg ± 16.8), f = 7.2, p < 0.001. Relative to normal TC, children with ATC were 2.6 times as likely to have abnormal BMI, relative risk (RR) =2.60, 99% CI, 2.54–2.68). Compared to non-Hispanic (RR = 2.62, 99% CI, 2.54–2.69), the risk was lower among Hispanics (RR = 2.34, 99%, 2.21–2.48). Among children with ATC, risk for abnormal BMI was highest among Asians, adjusted RR = 2.91, 99% CI, 2.34–3.62), intermediate among AA (ARR = 2.68, 99% CI, 2.59–2.77), but lowest among Whites (ARR = 2.40, 99% CI, 2.39–2.64), and SOR (ARR = 2.33, 99% CI, 2.19–2.50). In a large sample of children, total cholesterol directly correlates with BMI, with an observed racial and ethnic heterogeneity.

Keywords: racial heterogeneity; total cholesterol; pediatric; health disparities; obesity; BMI (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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