Changes in body mass index and waist circumference and heart failure in type 2 diabetes mellitus

To determine the association of unintentional changes in body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) with the risk of heart failure (HF) among adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

This was a randomized controlled trial (the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes [ACCORD] study), with a double 2×2 factorial design conducted at 77 clinical centers across the United States and Canada. In total, the study comprised 10,251 patients with T2DM and cardiovascular disease (CVD) or at a high risk of CVD. The outcome of interest in the present analysis was incident HF, defined as the first hospitalization event for HF or death due to HF. Hospitalization for HF was based on documented clinical and radiological evidence. Death due to HF was based on clinical, radiological, or postmortem evidence of HF, with an absence of an acute ischemic event according to clinical or postmortem evidence.

Participants with class III obesity had the smallest BMI and WC changes, followed by those with normal weight, overweight, class I obesity, and class II obesity. Increasing BMI (hazard ratio [HR] per standard deviation increase, 1.24; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07-1.45) and WC (1.27; 1.10-1.47) were significantly associated with a higher risk of HF. The relationship between BMI and WC changes and HF formed a J-shaped curve, while stable BMI and WC were associated with lower risks of HF. Compared with participants in the first tertiles of BMI and WC change, those in the third tertiles had HRs of 1.41 (95% CI, 1.07-1.45) and 1.48 (1.12-1.95), respectively.

In conclusion, our findings suggest a noteworthy association between BMI and WC changes among adults with T2DM in HF. We observed a distinctive J-shaped curve in this relationship, indicating that participants with both low and high BMI and WC changes were more susceptible to developing HF.

http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT00000620.