Association of BMI and cardiovascular risk stratification in the elderly African-American Females

Fahad Javed, Emad F. Aziz, Manpreet S. Sabharwal, Girish N. Nadkarni, Shahzeb A. Khan, Juan P. Cordova, Alexandre M. Benjo, Dympna Gallagher, Eyal Herzog, Franz H. Messerli, F. Xavier Pi-Sunyer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

We aimed to estimate the association of BMI and risk of systemic hypertension in African-American females aged 65 years and older. In this retrospective, cross-sectional study, medical charts were randomly reviewed after obtaining institutional review board approval and data collection was conducted for height, weight, BMI, age, ethnicity, gender, and hypertension. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed. The mean BMI was significantly higher in hypertensive subjects than normotensives (30.3 vs. 29kg/m 2; P = 0.003). A higher proportion of hypertensive subjects had a BMI 23kg/m 2 as compared to normotensives (88.9% vs. 83.5%; P = 0.023). When the log odds of having a history of hypertension was plotted against BMI as a continuous variable, we found that the odds showed an increasing trend with increasing BMI and a steep increase after a BMI of 23kg/m 2. When BMI was analyzed as a categorical variable, a BMI of 23-30kg/m 2 was found to have an odds ratio of 1.43 (95% confidence interval 1.01-2.13; P = 0.05) and a BMI of 30kg/m 2 had an odds ratio of 1.76 (95% confidence interval 1.17-2.65; P = 0.007) when compared to a BMI of 23kg/m 2. This association remained significant in both univariate and multivariate analysis. We conclude that BMI is an independent predictor of hypertension in elderly African-American females. Our results indicate that the risk of hypertension increased significantly at BMI of 23kg/m 2 in this ethnic group. Weight reduction to a greater extent than previously indicated could play an integral role in prevention and control of high blood pressure in this particular population.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1182-1186
Number of pages5
JournalObesity
Volume19
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2011
Externally publishedYes

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