Secular trend in height in Al Ain-United Arab Emirates.

Correlation between cycles in human stature and those in economic variables is well established. A recent review of international trends in this area provided information from most parts of the world but none on Arabs in the Middle East or more specifically the gulf region. The United Arab Emirates experienced a transformation in economic and social life followed the discovery of oil in the late 1960s and the wealth that it generated. No data is available on human growth at this period of time because its population never had health services prior to the 1970s. A study on conventional cardiovascular risk factors in 2004-2005 included 817 randomly selected national adults (> or =18 years) from both genders. The relationship between height and age in this study showed both men and women have increased in height with time demonstrating the secular change in height most likely a result of changing socioeconomic factors.

Associations of cardiovascular risk factors in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.

BACKGROUND: Over the last 30 years the citizens of the United Arab Emirates have experienced major changes in life-style secondary to increased affluence. Currently, 1 in 5 adults have diabetes mellitus, but the associations (clustering) among risk factors, as well as the relevance of the concept of the metabolic syndrome, in this population is unknown. AIM: To investigate the prevalence and associations among cardiovascular risk factors in this population, and explore to what extent associations can be explained by the metabolic syndrome according to ATP-III criteria. METHOD: A community based survey, of conventional risk factors for cardiovascular disease was conducted among 817 national residents of Al Ain city, UAE. These factors were fasting blood sugar, blood pressure, lipid profile, BMI, waist circumference, smoking, or CHD family history. Odds ratios between risks factors, both unadjusted and adjusted for age and sex as well as adjusted for age, sex, and metabolic syndrome were calculated. RESULTS: Various risk factors were positively associated in this population; associations that are mostly unexplained by confounding by age and sex. For example, hypertension and diabetes were still strongly related (OR 2.5; 95% CI 1.7-3.7) after adjustment. An increased waist circumference showed similar relationship with hypertension (OR 2.3; 95% CI 1.5-3.5). Diabetes was related to an increased BMI (OR 1.5; 96% CI 1.0-2.3). Smoking was also associated with diabetes (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.0-3.3).Further adjustment for metabolic syndrome reduced some associations but several remained. CONCLUSION: In this population risk-factors cluster, but associations do not appear to be explained by the presence/absence of the ATP-III metabolic syndrome. Associations provide valuable information in planning interventions for screening and management.