Does healthy obesity exist in the elderly? Findings from the Northern Shanghai Study

Metabolic unhealthiness and obesity are both associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. We aimed to investigate the significance of metabolic unhealthiness and obesity in organ damages in a community-based elderly cohort.

A total of 3325 elderly participants (>65 years old) were recruited in northern Shanghai. Associations of metabolic status and obesity with organ damages were investigated. In all, 1317 (39.6%) participants were metabolically unhealthy and 481 (14.5%) were obese. Compared with metabolically healthy nonobese (MH-nonobese) individuals, metabolically healthy obese subjects had a greater left ventricular mass index (LVMI) and pulse wave velocity (PWV). Metabolically unhealthy subjects, regardless of their obesity status, had greater organ damage parameters including E/Ea, LVMI, PWV, and urine albumin-creatinine ratio (UACR) than MH-nonobese subjects (all P < 0.05). After multivariate adjustments, both metabolic unhealthiness and obesity increased the risk of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) (OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.10-1.57 and OR 1.63, 95% CI 1.30-2.04), diastolic dysfunction (OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.06-1.67 and OR 1.51, 95% CI 1.14-1.99), and lower extremity atherosclerosis (OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.11-1.85 and OR 2.01, 95% CI 1.49-2.70). Metabolic unhealthiness was also associated with arterial stiffness, microalbuminuria and chronic kidney disease (all P < 0.05). In a subgroup analysis, metabolic unhealthiness was associated with more organ damages in nonobese subjects, and obesity was associated with LVH and lower extremity atherosclerosis regardless of metabolic status.

Both obesity and metabolic unhealthiness were associated with organ damages. Metabolic unhealthiness was associated with more organ damages, especially in nonobese individuals. Even healthy obesity was significantly associated with cardiac and vascular impairment.

NCT02368938.