Anthropometric and metabolic profile of a Brazilian Amerindian group: The Xikrin (Mebengôkre)

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to describe the metabolic and anthropometric profile of the Xikrin (Mebengôkre), an indigenous group. Methods: A total of 363 subjects (55.1% women) aged 18 years or older were evaluated. The variables analyzed were age, body weight and height, waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, triglyceride level, and total cholesterol level. Results: A high prevalence of obesity (36.5%) and central obesity (88.1%), mainly among women (46.9% and 96.2%, respectively), was found among the Xikrin (Mebengôkre). Impaired fasting glycemia and diabetes were found in 4.5% and 3.8% of adults, respectively. Twenty-one percent of adults had dyslipidemia and 9.3% had hypertension. Conclusions: The high prevalence of excess weight (overweight and obesity) and central obesity, especially in women, was the most significant finding of this study among the Xikrin (Mebengôkre).

Current State of Diabetes Mellitus Prevalence, Awareness, Treatment, and Control in Latin America: Challenges and Innovative Solutions to Improve Health Outcomes Across the Continent

“…A few studies in our review reported a low prevalence of diabetes among some indigenous populations in LatAm [55,74,82], in parallel to some previous reports [283][284][285][286] about other indigenous groups in the region and in contrast with the higher prevalence of diabetes among American Indians in the USA [287] and the First Nations in Canada [288]. However, other studies in our review and in the current literature have documented elevated diabetes prevalence or risk among indigenous and other socioeconomically disadvantaged ethnic groups [48,50,73,76,77,83,90,91,166,[289][290][291][292][293].…”

Fourteen-year trends in overweight, general obesity, and abdominal obesity in Amazonian indigenous peoples

“…The prevalences of general obesity recorded in the Araweté and Arara peoples in 2021 are also lower than those found in most indigenous peoples for whom recent data are available and are only similar to that recorded for Suyá-Khisêdjê people, Mato Grosso (5.3%) [ 12 ]. On the other hand, the high proportions of general obesity observed in 2021 for the Kararaô, Asurini do Xingu and Gavião peoples, are similar to those found in other indigenous peoples such as the Xikrin do Cateté (36.0%), Pará [ 14 ], Kaiowá, Guarani and Terena (37.0%), from Mato Grosso [ 15 ], Kaingang (33.1%), from Santa Catarina [ 15 ] and Xavante (51%), from Mato Grosso [ 13 ].…”

“…The prevalence found in the Arara people is also still lower than that described in recent years for Brazilian indigenous peoples, which ranges from 47.3% in Suyá-Khisêdjê people, Mato Grosso [ 12 ], to 85.5% in the Xavante, also from Mato Grosso [ 13 ]. On the other hand, the high prevalence of excess weight observed in the Gavião, Kararaô, Asurini do Xingu and Xikrin do Bacajá peoples are similar to those recorded in peoples such as the Xavante, Mato Grosso (85.5%) [ 13 ], Xikrin do Cateté, Pará (78.0%) [ 14 ], Kaingang, Santa Catarina (67.1%) [ 15 ], Kaiowá, Guarani, and Terena, Mato Grosso (61.3%) [ 16 ], in which the prevalence of excess weight are higher than the global average of 52.5% estimated for the Brazilian population [ 17 ].…”

“…The relatively low proportions of abdominal obesity identified in the Araweté and Parakanã peoples in 2021 are also similar to those found in the Suyá-Khisêdjê people (13.3%), from Mato Grosso [ 12 ]. On the other hand, the proportions of WC found among the Asurini do Xingu, Kararaô and Xikrin do Bacajá peoples are greater than those found in other indigenous peoples such as the Kaiowa, Guarani and Terena (56.0%), Mato Grosso [ 16 ] and Mura (48.6%), Amazonas [ 18 ], and are more similar to those described for the Xikrin do Cateté (80.7%), Pará [ 14 ] and Xavante, Mato Grosso (96.2%); these are the people who exhibit the highest prevalence of abdominal obesity among indigenous Brazilians, which are similar or even greater than the average for the general Brazilian population (80.7%).…”

The structure of Brazilian Amazonian gut microbiomes in the process of urbanisation

“…Members of the Lachnospiraceae family (such as Coprococcus) were also found to be enriched among the Native American Cheyenne and Arapaho individuals from North America, which are increasingly shifting towards an industrialised lifestyle pattern 35 . Considering a recent report 36 showing increased prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes among the Xikrin (R), the abundance of these taxa points to a gut microbiome similar to that of urbanised populations even in an environment with minimal intake of processed foods and medication, difficult access and linguistic barriers. In an Amazonian rural Native American population, this double burden of diseases can lead to public health issues.…”