The Effect of Rural-to-Urban Migration on Obesity and Diabetes in India

A Cross-Sectional Study

Bibliographic Data

ID23314272
AuthorsShah Ebrahim (0000-0001-9438-1438, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, corresponding author), Sanjay Kinra (0000-0001-6690-4625, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine), Liza Bowen (0000-0001-8318-8421, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine), Elizabeth Andersen (0000-0002-3350-1253, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine), Yoav Ben-Shlomo (0000-0001-6648-3007, University of Bristol), Tanica Lyngdoh (0000-0003-3310-4060, Public Health Foundation of India), Lakshmy Ramakrishnan (0000-0002-8582-3705, All India Institute of Medical Sciences), R C Ahuja, Rajeev Ahuja (0000-0003-1231-9994, King George's Medical University), Prashant Joshi (0000-0003-3113-2180, Government Medical College), S Mohan Das, Sidhartha Das (Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences), Murali Mohan, Gregory D Smith (0000-0002-1407-8314, University of Bristol), George Davey Smith, Dorairaj Prabhakaran (0000-0002-3172-834X, Centre for Chronic Disease Control), K Srinath Reddy (0000-0003-3416-3548, Public Health Foundation of India)
Year2010
Volume7
Issue4
Pagese1000268
Publication date2010-04-27
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePLoS Medicine (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1549-1277 • E-ISSN: 1549-1676
PublisherPublic Library of Science (PLoS) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1371/journal.pmed.1000268
PMID20436961
PMCIDPMC2860494
OpenAlexW2170768690
LanguageEN
Citations received67
References cited42

BACKGROUND: Migration from rural areas of India contributes to urbanisation and may increase the risk of obesity and diabetes. We tested the hypotheses that rural-to-urban migrants have a higher prevalence of obesity and diabetes than rural nonmigrants, that migrants would have an intermediate prevalence of obesity and diabetes compared with life-long urban and rural dwellers, and that longer time since migration would be associated with a higher prevalence of obesity and of diabetes. METHODS AND FINDINGS: The place of origin of people working in factories in north, central, and south India was identified. Migrants of rural origin, their rural dwelling sibs, and those of urban origin together with their urban dwelling sibs were assessed by interview, examination, and fasting blood samples. Obesity, diabetes, and other cardiovascular risk factors were compared. A total of 6,510 participants (42% women) were recruited. Among urban, migrant, and rural men the age- and factory-adjusted percentages classified as obese (body mass index [BMI] >25 kg/m(2)) were 41.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] 39.1-44.7), 37.8% (95% CI 35.0-40.6), and 19.0% (95% CI 17.0-21.0), respectively, and as diabetic were 13.5% (95% CI 11.6-15.4), 14.3% (95% CI 12.2-16.4), and 6.2% (95% CI 5.0-7.4), respectively. Findings for women showed similar patterns. Rural men had lower blood pressure, lipids, and fasting blood glucose than urban and migrant men, whereas no differences were seen in women. Among migrant men, but not women, there was weak evidence for a lower prevalence of both diabetes and obesity among more recent (</=10 y) migrants. CONCLUSIONS: Migration into urban areas is associated with increases in obesity, which drive other risk factor changes. Migrants have adopted modes of life that put them at similar risk to the urban population. Gender differences in some risk factors by place of origin are unexpected and require further exploration. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary.

Biology · Body mass index · Confidence interval · Cross-sectional study · Diabetes mellitus · Environmental health · Obesity · Rural area · Urbanization · Demography · Diabetes, Cardiovascular Risks, and Lipoproteins · Endocrinology · Health disparities and outcomes · Internal Medicine · Medicine · Urban Transport and Accessibility · Gerontology

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