Body fat change and 8-year incidence of hypertension: Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study

Hypertension is strongly correlated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events. Recent studies have demonstrated that body fat percentage (BF%) is associated with cardiometabolic risk factors. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between a change in BF% and body mass index (BMI) and the incidence of new-onset hypertension in a normotensive Korean cohort. At baseline (2001-2002), 8848 participants aged 40-70 years were recruited for the study; follow-up surveys were completed in the year 2012. A total of 3902 adults (1866 men and 2036 women) were included in the final analysis. These subjects were divided into quartile groups according to changes in BF% and were followed for 8.4 years to monitor for the development of hypertension. A Poisson regression model was used to evaluate the relative risk (RR) for hypertension according to BF% change quartile. Additionally, we also stratified participants into four groups according to BMI change levels and body fat change levels. Finally, we compared two factors, BF% change, and BMI change, to determine which is more predictive of incident hypertension. In an adjusted model, compared with the lowest BF% quartile group, the risk of new-onset hypertension significantly increased with BF% change: Changes in risk were 0%-2.0% for quartile 3 subjects (RR: 1.32 [1.06-1.63]) and 2.0%-8.9% for quartile 4 participants (RR: 1.78 [1.43-2.19]). We also revealed that the RR for new-onset hypertension was 1.81 (95% CI: 1.47-2.21) for quartile 4 group subjects, compared with subjects in quartile 1 (change in BMI -6.80 to -0.86% [kg/m(2)]). Body fat gain and BMI increase were predictors of hypertension in this community-based Korean cohort.