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Published on: January 15, 2022
Association of different anthropometric measures and indices with coronary atherosclerotic burden
Patricia Chagas1, Paulo Caramori, Christiano Barcellos
1Instituto de Geriatria e Gerontologia, PUCRS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. profpatriciachagas@gmail.com
Insights
No common body measurements independently predict coronary atherosclerosis. Waist-hip ratio showed a weak link in women, but this disappeared after adjusting for other factors, indicating no reliable anthropometric risk indicators for heart disease burden.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Public Health
- Medical Diagnostics
Background:
- The relationship between body measurements and the extent of atherosclerosis is not well understood.
- Few studies have investigated anthropometric parameters as predictors of coronary atherosclerosis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the association between various anthropometric measurements and the burden of coronary atherosclerotic disease.
Main Methods:
- Adults undergoing coronary angiography were included.
- Anthropometric data (weight, height, circumferences) and calculated indices (BMI, WHR, AbCHR, WHtR) were collected.
- Coronary atherosclerotic burden was quantified using the Friesinger score (FS).
Main Results:
- A weak correlation was found between waist-hip ratio (WHR) and coronary atherosclerotic burden (FS).
- In women, abdominal circumference-hip ratio (AbCHR) and WHR correlated with FS, but not in men.
- After adjusting for confounders, no anthropometric parameter independently predicted coronary atherosclerotic burden in the total sample or by gender.
Conclusions:
- None of the evaluated anthropometric parameters serve as independent risk factors for coronary atherosclerotic burden.
- Current anthropometric measures lack predictive value for coronary atherosclerosis severity.
Background:
The association between anthropometric parameters and atherosclerotic burden is not well established and few studies have addressed this issue.
Objective:
To evaluate the association of different anthropometric parameters with the coronary atherosclerotic burden.
Methods:
Adult patients undergoing coronary angiography were enrolled in the study. Sociodemographic characteristics and cardiovascular risk factors were collected through a standardized questionnaire. Weight, height, waist circumference (WC), abdominal circumference (AbC), hip circumference (HC) and neck circumference (NC) were measured and body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratio (WHR), abdominal circumference-hip ratio (AbCHR) and waist-height ratio (WHtR) were calculated. The atherosclerotic burden at the coronary angiography was measured through Friesinger score (FS). Significant atherosclerosis was considered when FS ≥ 5.
Results:
The sample consisted of 337 patients, of whom 213 were men (63.2%). The mean age was 60.1 ± 10 years. Only WHR (r = 0.159 and p = 0.003) showed a significant linear correlation with the coronary atherosclerotic burden as measured by FS. When the sample was stratified by gender, we found a significant correlation between women's AbCHR (r = 0.238 and p = 0.008) and WHR (r = 0.198 and p = 0.028) with FS. Men showed no correlation between anthropometric parameters and FS. After adjusting for gender, age, hypertension, smoking and DM, no anthropometric parameter was associated with coronary atherosclerotic burden as measured by FS in the total sample or when separated by gender.
Conclusion:
No anthropometric parameter was an independent risk factor for coronary atherosclerotic burden.
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