Differences in the association of PAI-1 activity with the metabolic syndrome between African and Caucasian women

Background and aimsThe association between PAI-1act and markers of the metabolic syndrome is well established in Caucasian populations, but data on African subjects is lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate possible differences between the association of PAI-1act and markers of the metabolic syndrome in Caucasian and African women.Methods and resultsCross-sectional data were collected from 95 African and 114 Caucasian women in the Potchefstroom district of the North West Province, South Africa. Plasma PAI-1act was almost twice as high in Caucasians compared to Africans (10.2 versus 5.2 U/mL, p < 0.001). Correlations between markers of the metabolic syndrome and PAI-1act were remarkably stronger in Caucasians than in Africans. In multivariate regression analyses 56% of the variance of PAI-1act could be explained by metabolic syndrome variables in the Caucasian group compared to 12% in the African women. Waist circumference was the strongest independent predictor of PAI-1act in both groups.ConclusionThis study showed lower PAI-1act in African than in Caucasian women, along with less associations of PAI-1act with markers of the metabolic syndrome in the African than in the Caucasian women. The role of PAI-1act in the metabolic syndrome may be less prominent in Africans than in Caucasians.