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Abdominal and total adiposity and risk of coronary heart disease in men

K M Rexrode1, J E Buring, J E Manson

  • 1Division of Preventive Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA. krexrode@partners.org

International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders : Journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity
|July 10, 2001
PubMed

Insights

Waist circumference and waist-hip ratio predict coronary heart disease (CHD) in men. However, these measures of abdominal adiposity are not independent predictors of CHD risk when body mass index (BMI) is considered.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Public Health
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Abdominal adiposity is linked to coronary heart disease (CHD).
  • Waist circumference is a simpler measure of abdominal adiposity than waist-hip ratio (WHR).
  • The independence of abdominal adiposity measures from body mass index (BMI) as CHD predictors in men is uncertain.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare waist circumference and WHR as predictors of CHD in men.
  • To determine if the association between abdominal adiposity and CHD is independent of BMI.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective cohort study of 16,164 US male physicians (aged 40-84).
  • Anthropometric measurements (waist circumference, WHR, BMI) collected at baseline and follow-up.
  • Coronary heart disease (CHD) events (myocardial infarction, coronary revascularization) tracked over an average of 3.9 years.

Main Results:

  • Higher waist circumference and WHR were associated with increased CHD risk.
  • After adjusting for BMI, the association between abdominal adiposity measures and CHD risk was substantially attenuated.
  • Higher BMI was a significant independent predictor of CHD risk.

Conclusions:

  • Both waist circumference and WHR show a modest relationship with CHD risk in middle-aged and older men.
  • Abdominal adiposity, measured by waist circumference or WHR, is not an independent predictor of CHD after accounting for BMI.
  • BMI is a more robust predictor of CHD risk than abdominal adiposity measures alone.
Abstract

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