G. Avellone et al., COAGULATION, FIBRINOLYSIS AND HEMORHEOLOGY IN PREMENOPAUSAL OBESE WOMEN WITH DIFFERENT BODY-FAT DISTRIBUTION, Thrombosis research, 75(3), 1994, pp. 223-231
Recently waist/hip ratio (WHR), a marker of body fat distribution, has
been described as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). The
aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of body fat di
stribution on metabolic, haemostatic and haemorheological pattem in pr
emenopausal obese women with different WHR. Fourty premenopausal obese
women were subdivided into two groups, matched for age and body mass
index (BMI): 20 women with abdominal obesity (WHR= 0.94 +/- 0.02) and
20 women with peripheral obesity (WHR= 0.77 +/- 0.03). Twenty nonobese
women were recruited as control group. The abdominal obesity group ha
d significantly higher blood glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol
, Apolipoprotein B and plasma insulin levels and lower high density li
poprotein (HDL) cholesterol and Apolipoprotein Al levels than the cont
rol group. All the haemostatic (fibrinogen, Factor VII, plasminogen ac
tivator inhibitor (PAI) activity and tissue plasminogen activator (t-P
A) antigen (Ag) pre venous occlusion (VO)) and haemorheological parame
ters (haematocrit, whole blood filterability, blood and plasma viscosi
ty) were significantly higher in the abdominal obesity group as compar
ed to the control group. In contrast, mean values of t-PA (Ag) post VO
were significantly lower in abdominal obese women. Moreover positive
correlations between WHR and plasma insulin (r= 0.68, p< 0.05), betwee
n WHR and fibrinogen (r= 0.63, p< 0.05) and between WHR and PAI pre VO
(r= 0.71, p< 0.05) and a negative correlation between WHR and t-PA (A
g) post VO (r= - 0.55, p< 0.05) were found. Our findings suggest that
the lipid, haemostatic and haemorheological alterations may contribute
to the high rate of cardiovascular events reported in abdominal obesi
ty.