“Healthy Obesity” Still Raises Cardiovascular Disease Risk
Individuals with obesity who have no metabolic abnormalities still have a higher risk for cardiovascular disease compared with normal weight individuals, according to the findings of a recent study.
In their study, the researchers used the electronic health records of 3.5 million individuals without cardiovascular disease at baseline who were enrolled in The Health Improvement Network. Individuals were classified as underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese, and categorized by 3 metabolic abnormalities: diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. The first record of CHD, cerebrovascular disease, heart failure, or peripheral vascular disease during a mean 5.4 years of follow-up was assessed as the primary endpoint.
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Compared with normal weight individuals with no metabolic abnormalities, individuals with obesity with no metabolic abnormalities had a higher risk for CHD, cerebrovascular disease, and heart failure (hazard ratios 1.49, 1.07, and 1.96, respectively).
In addition, the risk for CHD, cerebrovascular disease, and heart failure increased with the number of metabolic abnormalities for normal weight, overweight, and obese individuals.
“Metabolically healthy obese individuals had a higher risk of coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and heart failure than normal weight metabolically healthy individuals,” the researchers concluded. “Even individuals who are normal weight can have metabolic abnormalities and similar risks for cardiovascular disease events.”
—Melissa Weiss
Reference:
Caleyachetty R, Thomas GN, Toulis KA, et al. Metabolically healthy obese and incident cardiovascular disease events among 3.5 million men and women. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2017: 70(12):1429-1437. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2017.07.763.