Age-specific prevalence, subtypes and risk factors of metabolic diseases in Chinese adults and the different patterns from other racial/ethnic populations

BACKGROUND: Age has substantial influence on metabolic diseases patterns. Ethnic disparities of metabolic characteristics between Chinese and other populations also exist. Large-scale investigations of age-specific prevalence, subtypes and modifiable risk factors of metabolic disorders are essential to promote individualized strategies for the control and prevention of metabolic diseases in multi-ethnic populations. The study aims to address the age-specific prevalence, subtype characteristics and risk factor profiles of metabolic diseases among different races/ethnicities. METHODS: We analyzed data from the China Noncommunicable Disease Surveillance 2010 and the National Health and Nutrition Evaluation Survey (NHANES). We examined the prevalence and subtypes of hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidemia across age groups in four ethnic populations. We also investigated the odds ratios (ORs) of metabolic diseases associated with 11 classical risk factors in the young and the elder Mainland Chinese. RESULTS: The sex and BMI standardized prevalence of hypertension in Chinese aged 18–40 years was 18.5% and was the highest among the four populations. The main pathophysiologic subtype of diabetes was characterized by insulin resistance, instead of β-cell dysfunction in Mainland Chinese, and this pattern was more evident in obese subjects. The major subtype of hyperlipidemia in Mainland Chinese was hypertriglyceridemia, while Non-Hispanic Whites and Blacks were more prone to high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. For risk of hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidemia, young Chinese adults were more prone to general and central obesity than older ones. The other factors showed similar effects on the young and the old. CONCLUSIONS: The age-specific prevalence, subtypes and risk factors of metabolic diseases were substantially different in Chinese and other ethnic/racial populations. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-022-14555-1.