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Sex differences in the relationships between BMI, WHR and incidence of cardiovascular disease: a population-based cohort study.

Li, Cairu LU ; Engström, Gunnar LU ; Hedblad, Bo LU ; Calling, Susanna LU ; Berglund, Göran LU and Janzon, Lars LU (2006) In International Journal of Obesity 30(12). p.1775-1781
Abstract
Objective: Body mass index (BMI) is associated with increased incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the risk could be very different for individuals with the same body mass. The present study explored whether regional fat distribution, as measured by waist-hip ratio (WHR), could modify the impact of BMI on the risk of CVD in men and women. Design: Prospective population-based study. Subjects: A total of 10369 men and 16638 women, 45-73 years old, from general population in Malmo, Sweden. Measurements: All subjects were followed over 7 years for the incidences of first-ever cardiac event (CE) and ischemic stroke in relation to BMI category (< 25.0, 25.0-29.9, >= 30.0) and WHR. Results: The prevalence of overweight and... (More)
Objective: Body mass index (BMI) is associated with increased incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the risk could be very different for individuals with the same body mass. The present study explored whether regional fat distribution, as measured by waist-hip ratio (WHR), could modify the impact of BMI on the risk of CVD in men and women. Design: Prospective population-based study. Subjects: A total of 10369 men and 16638 women, 45-73 years old, from general population in Malmo, Sweden. Measurements: All subjects were followed over 7 years for the incidences of first-ever cardiac event (CE) and ischemic stroke in relation to BMI category (< 25.0, 25.0-29.9, >= 30.0) and WHR. Results: The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 39.4 and 13.0%, respectively. During follow-up, 1280 subjects suffered a CVD event (750 CE, 530 ischemic stroke). The risk of CVD in women increased with increasing levels of WHR, irrespective of BMI category. In men, WHR (per 1 s.d. increase) was associated with increased incidence of CVD in those with normal weight (relative risk (RR) = 1.24; 95% CI: 1.13-1.37) after adjustments for confounding factors. However, WHR was not related to CVD in overweight men (RR = 1.06; 95% CI: 0.94-1.20) or obese men (RR = 1.04; 95% CI: 0.87-1.24). A significant interaction was observed between sex and WHR on the CVD risk. Conclusion: The effect of WHR on incidence of CVD is modified by the overall body weight and by gender. WHR adds prognostic information on the cardiovascular risk in women at all levels of BMI, and in men with normal weight. (Less)
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author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
body fat distribution, body mass, gender, cohort study, waist-to-hip ratio, index, CVD risk
in
International Journal of Obesity
volume
30
issue
12
pages
1775 - 1781
publisher
Nature Publishing Group
external identifiers
  • wos:000242337400012
  • scopus:33845237638
ISSN
1476-5497
DOI
10.1038/sj.ijo.0803339
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b909ab5c-6bd2-4578-b5ef-80b2174a53ab (old id 155979)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 11:51:50
date last changed
2022-03-28 08:51:53
@article{b909ab5c-6bd2-4578-b5ef-80b2174a53ab,
  abstract     = {{Objective: Body mass index (BMI) is associated with increased incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the risk could be very different for individuals with the same body mass. The present study explored whether regional fat distribution, as measured by waist-hip ratio (WHR), could modify the impact of BMI on the risk of CVD in men and women. Design: Prospective population-based study. Subjects: A total of 10369 men and 16638 women, 45-73 years old, from general population in Malmo, Sweden. Measurements: All subjects were followed over 7 years for the incidences of first-ever cardiac event (CE) and ischemic stroke in relation to BMI category (&lt; 25.0, 25.0-29.9, &gt;= 30.0) and WHR. Results: The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 39.4 and 13.0%, respectively. During follow-up, 1280 subjects suffered a CVD event (750 CE, 530 ischemic stroke). The risk of CVD in women increased with increasing levels of WHR, irrespective of BMI category. In men, WHR (per 1 s.d. increase) was associated with increased incidence of CVD in those with normal weight (relative risk (RR) = 1.24; 95% CI: 1.13-1.37) after adjustments for confounding factors. However, WHR was not related to CVD in overweight men (RR = 1.06; 95% CI: 0.94-1.20) or obese men (RR = 1.04; 95% CI: 0.87-1.24). A significant interaction was observed between sex and WHR on the CVD risk. Conclusion: The effect of WHR on incidence of CVD is modified by the overall body weight and by gender. WHR adds prognostic information on the cardiovascular risk in women at all levels of BMI, and in men with normal weight.}},
  author       = {{Li, Cairu and Engström, Gunnar and Hedblad, Bo and Calling, Susanna and Berglund, Göran and Janzon, Lars}},
  issn         = {{1476-5497}},
  keywords     = {{body fat distribution; body mass; gender; cohort study; waist-to-hip ratio; index; CVD risk}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{12}},
  pages        = {{1775--1781}},
  publisher    = {{Nature Publishing Group}},
  series       = {{International Journal of Obesity}},
  title        = {{Sex differences in the relationships between BMI, WHR and incidence of cardiovascular disease: a population-based cohort study.}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803339}},
  doi          = {{10.1038/sj.ijo.0803339}},
  volume       = {{30}},
  year         = {{2006}},
}