AIMS: To describe the prevalence of @entity28 and other @entity301 and @entity164 2 @entity6 risk factors by age and ethnic group in Pacific Island communities and to determine the associations between these risk factors and body mass index. METHODS: Cross-sectional data from commuity-based intervention projects were combined to provide anthropometric, blood sample and blood pressure data on 1,175 Pacific Islands @entity1 (467 @entity1 , 708 @entity1 ) aged 20 years and over from church communities in South, Central and West Auckland. Self-reported data on @entity6 status and leisure-time physical activity were also collected. RESULTS: Based on an ethnic-specific mass index (BMI) cut-off (> 32 kg/m2), 45% of @entity1 and 66% of @entity1 were @entity28 . The age-standardised prevalence of known @entity6 was 12%. @entity1 and @entity1 aged 40-60 years had the highest risk factor levels and were the most sedentary. Tongans had higher risk factor levels than Samoans. In @entity1 , BMI and waist circumference were associated (p<0.05), in the direction of greater disease risk, with blood pressure and concentrations of total @entity165 , HDL- @entity165 , LDL- @entity165 , @entity1674 , and blood @entity413 . In @entity1 , these associations were similar but less consistent. CONCLUSIONS: While these data are not representative for all Pacific @entity1 living in New Zealand, they do show an extremely high prevalence of @entity28 and significant associations between @entity28 and other cardiovascular risk factors. These communities warrant a very high priority as part of public health efforts to address New Zealand's growing @entity28 epidemic.

Heart disease and XXXX risk factors in Pacific Islands communities and associations with measures of body fat.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['women', 'Men', 'people', 'men'] @entity6 :: ('MESH:D003920', 'Disease') :: ['diabetes'] @entity28 :: ('MESH:D009765', 'Disease') :: ['obese', 'obesity'] @entity301 :: ('MESH:D003327', 'Disease') :: ['coronary heart disease'] @entity1674 :: ('MESH:D014280', 'Chemical') :: ['triglycerides'] @entity164 :: ('MESH:D017827', 'Disease') :: ['Type'] @entity413 :: ('MESH:D005947', 'Chemical') :: ['glucose'] @entity165 :: ('MESH:D002784', 'Chemical') :: ['cholesterol']
@entity6 :: (MESH:D003920,Disease) :: ['diabetes']
