Obesity, diabetes, and other metabolic disorders among the Bororo Indigenous population

Obesity and diabetes are widely recognized risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and their increase among Indigenous populations has been documented in the medical literature. Given the regional differences in the prevalence of metabolic disorders, this study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of obesity, diabetes, and other metabolic conditions in the Bororo population of the Central-West region of Brazil.

In this cross-sectional study, 152 Bororo individuals from the Meruri Reservation in Mato Grosso, Brazil, underwent clinical, anthropometric, and laboratory assessments.

Women presented a worse metabolic profile than men, demonstrating significantly higher body mass index, waist circumference, total cholesterol, LDL-c, and 2-hour glucose levels, whereas men exhibited higher systolic blood pressure. Obesity was observed in 30.2% of the participants, with a higher prevalence among women (40.0% vs. 21.9%, p = 0.02). Prediabetes affected 51.3% of the participants, showing a higher prevalence in older men than in younger men (70.6% vs. 43.7%, p = 0.02). Diabetes was diagnosed in 9.2% of the participants, exclusively among women (20.0%), and rose to 38.7% in women aged ≥40 years. Hypertension was present in 23.0% of the participants and was positively associated with age. Central obesity was highly prevalent in this study cohort (72.3%).

Our findings revealed an unfavorable metabolic profile among the Bororo Indigenous population, particularly in older women. This underscores the critical need for sexand age-specific preventive measures and management strategies for metabolic diseases in this population.