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Somatotype and angiographically determined atherosclerotic coronary artery disease in men
Simon R.P. Williams1, Jonathan Goodfellow, Bruce Davies
1Health and Exercise Science Research Laboratory, School of Applied Sciences, University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd, UK.
Insights
Somatotype, body composition, and coronary artery disease (CAD) risk were studied in older men. Higher adiposity and muscularity (mesomorphy) were linked to increased CAD risk, while linearity (ectomorphy) appeared protective.
Area of Science:
- Human Biology
- Cardiology
- Anthropometry
Background:
- Coronary artery disease (CAD) remains a leading cause of mortality worldwide.
- Understanding the influence of body composition and physique (somatotype) on CAD risk is crucial for prevention strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between somatotype components and coronary artery disease (CAD) severity.
- To examine the association between somatotype and regional adiposity in men undergoing coronary angiography.
Main Methods:
- Somatotype was assessed in 58 males (mean age 60.2 years) suspected of having atherosclerotic CAD.
- Coronary artery disease severity was quantified using coronary angiography (stenosis degree and lesion location).
- Statistical analyses, including canonical correlation, were used to determine relationships between somatotype and CAD indicators.
Main Results:
- Somatotype was not directly correlated with overall CAD severity.
- Endomorphy (adiposity) significantly correlated with abdominal obesity measures (circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, sagittal diameter).
- Mesomorphy (muscularity) showed no significant association with abdominal adiposity after adjustment, while ectomorphy (linearity) was inversely related to adiposity.
Conclusions:
- Adiposity and muscularity appear to be significant factors contributing to increased coronary artery disease risk.
- Body linearity (ectomorphy) may offer a protective effect against CAD.
- These findings highlight the importance of body composition in cardiovascular health assessment.
Abstract:
The relationship between somatotype and somatotype components with coronary artery disease (CAD) and regional adiposity was considered in 58 males (age 60.2 +/- 9.4 years) undergoing investigative coronary angiography for suspected atherosclerotic CAD. Severity of CAD was determined in terms of both the degree of stenosis and the anatomical position of the lesions on the coronary arteries (myocardial score). Six patients had negative angiographic findings but three of these had impaired left ventricular function as determined by left ventriculography. The mean (+/-SD) somatotype of the group was 5.7 / 5.6 / 1.2 (1.7 / 1.4 / 1.0), illustrating a clear dominance of the first two somatotype components. Canonical correlation analysis showed that somatotype was not significantly related to the angiography results (P > 0.05). However, correlations between the somatotype components and the angiography results with their respective first canonical variates showed that the somatotype variate was one of high mesomorphy and low ectomorphy and the angiography variate was essentially one of a high myocardial score. After adjustment for the confounding interrelationship among the somatotype components, endomorphy was significantly correlated with abdominal circumference (r = 0.65, P < 0.001), the abdomen-to-hip ratio (r = 0.53, P < 0.001) and the abdominal sagittal diameter (r = 0.60, P < 0.001). Mesomorphy was not related to these indicators of android or abdominal adiposity following partial adjustment. Ectomorphy was inversely related to the indices of general and regional adiposity. This study suggests that adiposity and muscularity are important features in terms of increased CAD risk, whereas linearity is beneficial. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 12:128-138, 2000. Copyright 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.