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Associations among cardiometabolic risk factor clustering, weight status, and cardiovascular disease in an

Kimberly B Blake1, Anoop Shankar, Suresh Madhavan

  • 1Department of Pharmaceutical Systems and Policy, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV, USA.

Journal of Clinical Hypertension (Greenwich, Conn.)
|December 3, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Cardiometabolic risk factors cluster differently within Body Mass Index (BMI) categories. Normal-weight individuals with these risk factors have a higher cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, similar to overweight/obese individuals with risk factors.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Public Health
  • Metabolic Health

Background:

  • Traditional Body Mass Index (BMI) categories may not fully capture cardiometabolic risk.
  • Obesity is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD).
  • Understanding risk factor clustering within BMI categories is crucial for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between obesity, cardiometabolic abnormalities, and CVD risk in Appalachian adults.
  • To determine if cardiometabolic risk factor clustering varies across traditional BMI classifications.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional survey of 14,783 Appalachian adults (aged ≥18).
  • BMI categorized as normal (<25kg/m²), overweight (25-29.9kg/m²), and obese (≥30kg/m²).
  • Cardiometabolic abnormalities defined by hypertension, dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, or elevated C-reactive protein.

Main Results:

  • 25.6% of normal-weight adults had ≥2 cardiometabolic abnormalities.
  • 36.8% of overweight/obese adults had no cardiometabolic abnormalities.
  • Normal-weight individuals with clustered abnormalities had 2.21 times the odds of CVD compared to normal-weight individuals without abnormalities.

Conclusions:

  • Cardiometabolic risk factor clustering is heterogeneous within traditional BMI categories.
  • Normal-weight individuals with cardiometabolic abnormalities face elevated CVD risk.
  • BMI alone may be insufficient for comprehensive CVD risk assessment.

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