Different degrees of overweight: anthropometric indices in patients with coronary heart disease

Objectives - Obesity is a risk factor for all-cause mortality. The obesity incidence depends on different definitions. Among patients with high-risk coronary heart disease (HRCA), we have studied differences in obesity incidence, according to different anthropometric indices. Methods and results - Based on the definitions of the International Guidelines Committees for body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WCF), and waist-hip ratio (WHR), we have classified 487 CAD patients into 3 groups: normal (group 1), overweight (group 2), and obese patients (group 3). Among men, obesity criteria BMI,WCF and WHR were positive in 17.5%, 14.2%, and 66.4% of the subjects. Among male subjects < 65 years, the incidence of HRCA (%), for the 3 groups (normal, overweight, obese) were for BMI (2.4, 21.5, 28.9, P = 0.005); WCF (17.9, 12.1, 37.9, P = 0.012); WHR (0, 15.4, 30.4, P = 0.024). In male subjects > 65 years, for the HRCA incidence (%), only WHR showed a significant difference between the 3 groups (0, 15.4, 30.4, P = 0.024). Among women, 30.6%, 63.6%, and 87.6% were obese by the BMI, WCF, and WHR criteria, respectively. We did not find any significant differences in the HRCA distribution between age groups and degrees of obesity. Conclusions - HRCA distribution varied among obese male patients. According to the different methods of measurement, obesity percentages varied from 4- to 5-fold among men and 3-fold among women. In our view,WHR measurement is the method of choice for the determination of obesity among patients with CAD.