Association of Body Fatness With Hypertension, Dyslipidemia, and Myocardial Infarction in a Multinational Pooled...

To investigate the association of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry-measured body fat percentage (BF%) and trunk fat mass index (TFMI) with hypertension (HTN), dyslipidemia, and myocardial infarction (MI).

The relationship between body fat parameters and cardiovascular disease (CVD) was studied across individuals in the same body mass index (BMI) group. Data from the UK Biobank, a multicountry large population-based study, and the US and Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, generating nationally representative samples, were pooled and harmonized. This cross-sectional analysis included 30,520 women and 27,244 men aged 40 years or older.

A significant increase in relative risks (RRs) of HTN across BF% quintiles was seen in men with normal weight, overweight, and obesity (P≤.01) and in normal weight women (P<.001). The RRs of dyslipidemia for normal weight and overweight men and women significantly increased across BF% quintiles (P≤.002). The RRs of MI did not exhibit a trend across BF% quintiles for participants within various BMI categories. The RRs of HTN and dyslipidemia significantly increased across TFMI quintiles for men and women with normal weight, overweight, and obesity (P≤.007). In men with normal weight, overweight, and obesity, the RRs of MI significantly increased across TFMI quintiles (P≤.03). However, no trend was displayed in the RRs of MI for women in any BMI group.

This analysis revealed a positive association of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry-measured body fat parameters with CVDs for individuals in a specific BMI group. The findings highlight a need for policy changes to include directly measured body fatness in assessing CVD risk.