Large waist circumference and risk of hypertension

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between 24h ambulatory blood pressur e monitoring and three commonest anthropometric measurements for obesity-bo dy mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and waist circumference (W). DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey among outpatients at the Obesity Research Ce nter. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Four-hundred and sixty-one overweight or obese subjec ts, non-diabetic, otherwise healthy, aged 20-70y, of either sex, were conse cutively recruited. All subjects underwent 24h ambulatory blood pressure mo nitoring. The population study was separated in normotensive and hypertensi ve males and females and the possible risk factors for hypertension (W, WHR , BMI and age) were subdivided into different classes of values. RESULTS: Logistic regression shows that W is the most important anthropomet ric factor associated with the hypertensive risk. Among males with W greate r than or equal to 102cm the odds ratio (OR) for hypertension is three time s that of males with W < 94cm using casual BP measure (OR 3.04), nearly fou r times higher using 24 h BP mean (OR 3.97), and even five times higher usi ng day-time BP mean (OR 5.19). Females with W greater than or equal to 88 c m have a risk for hypertension twice that of females with W < 80 cm, whatev er BP measurement was take (casual, 24 h or day-time). Males with WHR great er than or equal to0.96 and females with WHR greater than or equal to0.86 s how significant OR for hypertension only by 24 h SP measurement and by day- time BP measurement. BMI seems to have no significant relationship to hyper tensive risk. Age shows a significant relationship to hypertensive risk onl y considering males aged greater than or equal to 55 y and females aged gre ater than or equal to 50 y. CONCLUSION: The waist circumference seems to have a strong association with the risk of hypertension, principally by the ambulatory BP monitoring, whe n compared with casual BP measurement.