Association of general and abdominal obesities and metabolic syndrome with subclinical atherosclerosis in asymptomatic Chinese postmenopausal women

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationships between obesity, especially abdominal obesity, and metabolic syndrome (MS) with carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaque, markers of subclinical atherosclerosis, in asymptomatic Chinese postmenopausal women in Hong Kong. Design: A total of 518 postmenopausal women aged 50 to 64 years were recruited through random telephone dialing. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, sociodemographic characteristics, blood pressures, medical, biochemical and lifestyle factors were obtained. MS was defined on the basis of the National Cholesterol and Education Program, Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. Subclinical atherosclerosis was determined by measuring IMT and plaque using high-resolution B-mode ultrasonography. Results: Women with a BMI of 25 kg/m(2) or greater, a waist circumference of 80 cm or greater, a waist-to-hip ratio of 0.85 or greater, or MS were observed to have higher IMT values and prevalence of plaque. Multivariate analyses revealed that waist circumference was significantly associated with IMT independent of age, hormone therapy, lifestyle and sociodemographic factors, and BMI (P < 0.05), whereas a waist-to-hip ratio of 0.85 or greater was significantly associated with plaque (odds ratio = 1.7; 95% Cl: 1.0-2.8) after controlling for age, hormone therapy, lifestyle and sociodemographic factors, BMI, and the traditional cardiovascular risk factors. MS was also associated with IMT after adjustment for age, hormone therapy, lifestyle and sociodemographic factors, and BMI (P < 0.05), whereas its association with plaque was also significant (odds ratio = 1.7; 95% Cl: 1.0-2.6) after controlling for age. Conclusions: Abdominal obesity and MS are independent of general obesity markers of subclinical atherosclerosis in Chinese postmenopausal women.