Independent association of central obesity with early carotid intima-media thickening
Document Actions
A total of 100 never-smoking subjects without vascular events, hypertension, glucose homeostasis disturbance or hypercholesterolaemia were studied to investigate whether anthropometric measurements or metabolic risk factors correlated more with obesity-linked vascular changes. To this end, carotid intima-media thickness was measured using duplex ultrasonography, and vascular stiffness was assessed by applanation tonometry and brachial artery reactivity tests. Multivariate analysis revealed that whilst anthropometric parameters and metabolic risk factors correlated with each other in these otherwise healthy subjects in whom risk factors were within the normal distribution, anthropometric parameters were the only significant correlates of carotid intima-media thickness. Moreover, a waist/height ratio ≥0.5, a surrogate for central adiposity, was shown to predict both early vascular and metabolic changes. These data support a risk factor-independent vasculotropic effect of obesity.
Abstract
