Coronary artery disease in Asians

Abstract

From available studies, there appears to be a racial preponderance of coronary artery disease (CAD) among Indians when compared to other ethnic groups. We found that this racial difference exists even in a young Asian population with premature atherosclerosis. In this small series, these racial differences could not be explained by the commonly known risk factors for coronary artery disease--smoking, hypertension, diabetes and hypercholesterolaemia, findings similar to those found in older patients elsewhere. Only fasting triglyceride levels were significantly higher among young Indians compared to non Indians (p less than 0.02) although the importance of this finding as a risk factor for CAD remains controversial. The majority of these young patients were treated medically and their one year survival was good.

Ethnic differences in preoperative function of patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty

“…The natural history of disease progression is often different from that in the indigenous population. This is clearly demonstrated with respect to cardiac conditions [14] and type II diabetes [1].…”

Risk factors for coronary heart disease in two similar Indian population groups, one residing in India, and the other in Sydney, Australia

“…The traditional risk factors for CHD, namely hypertension, high cholesterol, smoking and obesity do not fully explain the excess of CHD seen among South Asians (McKeigue et al, 1989). In earlier studies of lipids among South Asians, cholesterol levels have been reported to be normal or low (Rajadurai et al, 1992). However, a number of risk factors related to the metabolic syndrome (insulin-resistance syndrome) have been described in South Asians; these include an excess of noninsulindependent diabetes (NIDDM) (Ramachandran et al, 2001), increased upper body obesity with increased waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) (McKeigue et al, 1991), elevated plasma insulin (hyperinsulinaemia) and increased insulin resistance (Laws et al, 1994) all of which influence CHD risk.…”

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase C677T polymorphism is associated with increased risk of coronary artery disease in young South African Indians

“…In India, 25-40% of patients suffering from acute myocardial infarction (AMI) were below the age of 45 (Girija, 1997). In Great Britain, AMI occurred in Indians younger than 40 years old -and the incidence was 10 times higher than the local Caucasian population (Rajadurai et al, 1992). Studies in Singapore reported that mortality due to CAD below 30 years of age occurs 10 times more in the Indian population compared to the local Chinese (Hughes et al, 1990).…”