[Obesity and cardiovascular risk]

PROBANDS AND METHOD: In the Prospective Cardiovascular Münster (PROCAM) Study, 16,288 men aged 40.5 +/- 11.3 years (mean +/- SD) and 7,328 women aged 35.8 +/- 12.3 years were enrolled between 1979 and 1991.

Mean body mass indices (BMI) were 25.6 +/- 3.3 kg/m2 and 23.8 +/- 4.1 kg/m2 in men and women, respectively. There was a graded positive interaction in both men and women between BMI and age-standardized levels of serum total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting blood glucose, uric acid, and blood pressure (both systolic and diastolic). High density lipoprotein cholesterol tended to decrease with increases in BMI in both sexes. In the subgroup of male participants aged 40-65 years without a prior history of myocardial infarction or stroke in an 8-year follow-up 258 major coronary events were observed. Although incidences of major coronary events increased with increase in relative body weight in a multiple logistic function analysis BMI did not independently contribute to cardiovascular risk, indicating that the effect of overweight on coronary heart disease is mediated via other risk factors.