[Correlations between different obese indexes and arterial stiffness among populations at the community level]

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between obesity [measured by body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR)] and arterial stiffness on community populations in Beijing area.

In a cross-sectional study of 2664 subjects (1379 men and 1285 women) aged (53.19 ± 15.73 years, mean ± standard deviation), BMI, WC, WHR and other cardiovascular risk factors, were measured and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) was measured to assess the arterial stiffness. All the data were analyzed with linear correlation analysis, univariate analysis and stepwise regression method to explore the relationship between obese indexes and arterial stiffness.

We noticed that a showed the existence of positive correlations between BMI (r = 0.0829, P < 0.01) and cfPWV, WC (r = 0.2659, P < 0.01) and cfPWV, WHR (r = 0.2749, P < 0.01) and cfPWV. In univariate analysis, cfPWV was associated with WC ≥ 85 cm (male) or ≥ 80 cm (female) (P < 0.01), WHR ≥ 0.90 (male) or ≥ 0.85 (female) (P < 0.01). Stepwise regression analysis revealed that WC was an independent risk factor of cfPWV, other than age, gender, systolic blood pressure, HDL-C, OGTT2h etc.

Our findings indicated that obesity was an independent risk factor of cfPWV, which was an early marker of cardiovascular and renal diseases, among community population in Beijing area. There were different relationships between obesity measurement parameters (BMI, WC, WHR) and cfPWV.