Lifestyle patterns and dysglycaemic risk in urban Sri Lankan women

Abstract

Specific dietary patterns are associated with the risk of chronic disease. An in-depth understanding more reflective of lifestyle would be possible when assessing the synergistic effects of both diet and physical activity in pattern analysis. In the present study, we examined the biochemical markers of dysglycaemia and cardiometabolic risk in relation to lifestyle patterns using principal component analysis (PCA). Urban women (n 2800) aged 30 -45 years were screened for dysglycaemia using cluster sampling from the Colombo Municipal Council area. All the 272 dysglycaemic women detected through screening and 345 randomly selected normoglycaemic women were enrolled. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire and a quantitative FFQ were used to assess physical activity and diet, respectively. Anthropometric measurements, bioelectrical impedance analysis and biochemical estimations were carried out. Lifestyle patterns were identified based on dietary and physical activity data using exploratory factor analysis. PCA was used for the extraction of factors. A total of three lifestyle patterns were identified. Women who were predominantly physically inactive and consumed snacks and dairy products had the greatest cardiometabolic risk, with a higher likelihood of having unfavourable obesity indices (increased waist circumference, fat mass percentage and BMI and decreased fat-free mass percentage), glycaemic indices (increased glycosylated Hb (HbA1c) and fasting blood sugar concentrations) and lipid profile (increased total cholesterol/TAG and decreased HDL-cholesterol concentrations) and increased high-sensitivity C-reactive protein concentrations. For the first time, we report lifestyle patterns and demonstrate the synergistic effects of physical activity/inactivity and diet and their relative association with cardiometabolic risk in urban women. Lifestyle pattern analysis greatly increases our understanding of high-risk behaviours occurring within real-life complexities.

Lifestyle Patterns Are Associated with Elevated Blood Pressure among Qatari Women of Reproductive Age: A Cross-Sectional National Study

“…Using data stemming from the National STEPwise survey conducted in Qatar in year 2012, we identified three lifestyle patterns amongst Qatari women of reproductive age, with only the “Fast food & smoking” and “Traditional sedentary” patterns being associated with increased risk of raised BP. Together, the identified patterns explained 33.7% of the variance, which falls within the range reported in the literature (23.5%–45%) [ 18 , 20 , 29 ]. Only a few studies have adopted the lifestyle pattern approach and aimed at investigating the combined effects of food intake and other health-related lifestyle characteristics on disease risk [ 18 , 20 , 29 ].…”

“…Together, the identified patterns explained 33.7% of the variance, which falls within the range reported in the literature (23.5%–45%) [ 18 , 20 , 29 ]. Only a few studies have adopted the lifestyle pattern approach and aimed at investigating the combined effects of food intake and other health-related lifestyle characteristics on disease risk [ 18 , 20 , 29 ]. A brief description of these studies is presented in the table below ( Table 5 ).…”

“…Studying a single behavioral risk factor overlooks the fact that people are exposed to a combination of risk factors which are frequently interactive and/or synergistic [ 18 ]. Recently, a few studies have addressed the association between lifestyle patterns and weight status among children [ 19 ]; dysglycemia [ 20 ] and non-communicable diseases [ 18 ]. Not only does this approach account for the collinearity or intercorrelations between risk factors, it allows for a better understanding of high-risk behaviours as they cluster in real-life and thus produces more culturally sensitive public health recommendation that can be easily interpreted and followed by the general population.…”

A ‘High Risk’ Lifestyle Pattern Is Associated with Metabolic Syndrome among Qatari Women of Reproductive Age: A Cross-Sectional National Study

“…Previous studies examining the effect of combined lifestyle factors on other metabolic abnormalities showed similar results. A lifestyle pattern consisting of a higher snack and dairy consumption and lower levels of physical activity was associated with obesity and unfavorable glycaemic indices, lipid profile and increased high-sensitivity C-reactive protein concentrations among urban Sri Lankan women [ 4 ]. In addition, a previous study by our group investigating the role of combined lifestyle factors on elevated blood pressure showed that a higher adherence to the ‘Fast food and smoking’ and the ‘Traditional and sedentary’ patterns increased its odds among Qatari women [ 6 ].…”

“…Furthermore, when a large number of variables are entered in a regression model, it is possible to obtain significant association simply by chance [ 3 ]. Recently, a novel approach in nutritional epidemiology has been proposed whereby lifestyle patterns, as a combination of diet, physical activity and smoking are examined in relation to diseases such as diabetes [ 4 ]; obesity [ 5 ] and hypertension [ 1 , 6 ]. Not only does this approach account for the collinearity between risk factors, it also captures the complexity of real lifestyle effect on disease risk and leads to a better understanding of high-risk behaviors.…”