Abstract:
Motivation:
The detrimental effects of obesity and insulin resistance in Caucasians and African-Americans
have been the focus of many recent publications, and the association between PAI-1act and
markers of the metabolic syndrome is well established but data on African subjects are still
lacking.
Objectives:
To investigate possible differences between the association of PAI-1act with markers of the
metabolic syndrome in Caucasian and African women.
Methods
We used cross-sectional data from the POWIRS I and II studies, involving 95 African and 114
Caucasian women respectively in the Potchefstroom district of the North West Province, South
Africa.
Results:
Mean plasma PAI-1act was significantly higher in the Caucasian than in the African subjects (p <
0.001). Markers for the metabolic syndrome explained 60% of the variance of PAI-1act in the
Caucasian group, but only 2.8% of the variance of PAI-1act in the African group. Waist
circumference emerged as the strongest independent predictor of PAI-1act in the Caucasian
(34%) as well as the African subjects (11%).
Conclusion:
This study showed clear differences in PAI-1act between African and Caucasian subjects, along
with differences in the association of PAI-1act with markers of the metabolic syndrome.
Apparent genetic differences between the two groups (especially the role of the 4G/5G
genotype) may have an important influence on PAI-1act The role of PAI-1act in the metabolic
syndrome may differ between Caucasians and Africans.
