A behavioral intervention in a cohort of Japanese-Brazilians at high cardiometabolic risk

objective: to assess the effect of a health promotion program on cardiometabolic risk profile in japanese-brazilians. methods: a total of 466 subjects from a study on diabetes prevalence conducted in the city of bauru, southeastern brazil, in 2000 completed a 1-year intervention program (2005-2006) based on healthy diet counseling and physical activity. changes in blood pressure and metabolic parameters in the 2005-2006 period were compared with annual changes in these same variables in the 2000-2005 period. results: during the intervention, there were greater annual reductions in mean (sd) waist circumference [-0.5(3.8) vs. 1.2(1.2) cm per year, p<0.001], systolic blood pressure [-4.6(17.9) vs. 1.8(4.3) mmhg per year, p<0.001], 2-hour plasma glucose [-1.2(2.1) vs. -0.2(0.6) mmol/l per year, p<0.001], ldl-cholesterol [-0.3(0.9) vs. -0.1(0.2) mmol/l per year, p<0.001] and framingham coronary heart disease risk score [-0.25(3.03) vs. 0.11(0.66) per year, p=0.02] but not in triglycerides [0.2(1.6) vs. 0.1(0.42) mmol/l per year, p<0.001], and fasting insulin level [1.2(5.8) vs. -0.7(2.2) iu/ml per year, p<0.001] compared with the pre-intervention period. significant reductions in the prevalence of impaired fasting glucose/impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes were seen during the intervention (from 58.4% to 35.4%, p<0.001; and from 30.1% to 21.7%, p= 0.004, respectively). conclusions: a one-year community-based health promotion program brings cardiometabolic benefits in a high-risk population of japanese-brazilians.