PRELIMINARY BLOOD LIPID, LIPOPROTEIN AND GLUCOSE FINDINGS FROM THE GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDY OF ADIPOSITY IN SAMOANS.

Samoans have been shown to exhibit alarmingly high rates of non-communicable disease such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD). A high NCD burden is usually characterized by high rates of biological risk factors within the population, such as elevated lipid, lipoprotein, and blood glucose levels. This report describes the prevalence of these biological risk factors in a population of 800 Samoan adults (39% male, n=312), aged 25-64 years. High levels of total cholesterol were found in 11.5% of men and 10.0% of women. Of the 800 individuals studied 617 (77.1%) had levels of LDL-cholesterol that were too high. A substantially greater proportion of women had levels of HDL-cholesterol, which is protective against CVD risk, that were too low (62.1% of women as compared to 27.9% of men). Men showed higher average levels of triglycerides, with more men than women being classified as having increased risk for CVD. High blood glucose was, conversely, more prevalent in women than men (12.5% of women, 7.7% of men). These biochemical findings support reports of a high NCD burden in Samoa. This disease burden has implications not only for the individual, but also the family and the national economy as the healthcare system is placed under increasing pressure. Primary prevention strategies for these diseases must be multifold, addressing the multiple determinants of NCDs.