Awareness of Abdominal Adiposity as a Cardiometabolic Risk Factor (The 5A Study): Mexico

The Awareness of Abdominal Adiposity as a Cardiometabolic Risk Factor Study assesses the prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors in adults with abdominal obesity (waist circumference ≥90 cm in men and ≥80 cm in women) and evaluates how physicians manage these patients.

This is an observational cross-sectional study. Internists, cardiologists, and endocrinologists contributed patients to the study. A standardized questionnaire was completed and registered demographics, anthropometric measurements, lab results from the medical files, and any treatment utilized to manage dyslipidemia, arterial hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

A total of 1312 patients was included. The mean age was 49.3 ± 14.6 years and 834 (63.6%) were female. The primary reason for the physician consultation was treatment of obesity (47.5%), followed by management of arterial hypertension (27.7%), diabetes (18.3%), dyslipidemia (14.2%), and cardiovascular disease (7.1%). The majority of patients identified excess body weight as a health problem (81.4%). However, patients had lost a mean of 4.3 ± 3.5 kg. Only 63.4% of patients with arterial hypertension were on drug therapy. Few of them had reached target values for diastolic (24.1%) and systolic/diastolic (13.3%) pressure. Less than half of the patients with dyslipidemia were receiving lipid-lowering medication. Only 32.2% were at their target low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. In patients with type 2 diabetes, mean fasting plasma glucose level (8.9 ± 3.4 mmol/L) was above the threshold recommended by current guidelines.

The study describes the medical care given to individuals with abdominal obesity during daily clinical practice by general practitioners, cardiologists, and endocrinologists in urban Mexico. Our data confirm that a large proportion of patients are undertreated. Only a small percentage of patients with obesity-related comorbidities reach treatment targets. Interventions proven to be effective in the prevention of chronic complications have in general not been implemented.