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Height, weight and body mass index in adults with congenital heart disease

Camilla Sandberg1, Daniel Rinnström2, Mikael Dellborg3

  • 1Heart Centre and Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University, Sweden; Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Physiotherapy, Umeå University, Sweden.

International Journal of Cardiology
|April 4, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Men with congenital heart disease (CHD) generally have lower BMI, with higher underweight prevalence, compared to controls. Women with CHD showed fewer differences, though complexity impacted men's height.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Public Health
  • Genetics

Background:

  • High BMI is a known cardiovascular disease risk factor.
  • Low BMI is associated with poorer outcomes in heart failure patients.
  • Limited data exists on BMI distribution in adults with congenital heart disease (CHD).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate Body Mass Index (BMI) distribution across different BMI classes in adults with CHD.
  • To compare BMI and height in adults with CHD to a reference population.
  • To explore potential gender and CHD complexity-related differences.

Main Methods:

  • Data from 2424 adult CHD patients from the Swedish Registry on Congenital Heart Disease.
  • Comparison with a reference population (n=4605).
  • Analysis of BMI (underweight, overweight, obesity) and height based on CHD type and gender.

Main Results:

  • Men with CHD, particularly those with complex lesions like Fontan procedure, pulmonary atresia/double outlet right ventricle, and aortic valve disease, had lower prevalence of overweight/obesity compared to controls.
  • Underweight (BMI < 18.5) was more common in men with CHD (complex and simple lesions).
  • Overt obesity (BMI ≥ 30) was more prevalent in women with aortic valve disease. Men with complex CHD were shorter than controls, unlike women.

Conclusions:

  • Men with CHD generally exhibit lower BMI, characterized by higher underweight rates and lower overweight/obesity rates in certain complex conditions, compared to the general population.
  • Limited BMI differences were observed between women with CHD and controls.
  • CHD complexity significantly impacted height in men, with unknown causes and prognostic implications for these gender-specific findings.
Abstract

Keywords:
AdultBody mass indexCongenital heart diseaseHeightWeight

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