Study of 259,388 Adults Finds Waist Measures Sharpen Heart Risk Beyond BMI
Updated
Updated · American College of Cardiology · Aug 10
Study of 259,388 Adults Finds Waist Measures Sharpen Heart Risk Beyond BMI
3 articles · Updated · American College of Cardiology · Aug 10
Summary
A pooled analysis of 15 NIH and NHLBI cohorts found waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio improved cardiovascular risk assessment beyond BMI alone in 259,388 adults followed for a median 20 years.
Across normal and overweight BMI groups, elevated waist measures were linked to 15% to 50% higher risk for outcomes including heart attack, stroke, heart failure, atrial fibrillation and cardiovascular death.
The study also found BMI often misclassified risk: 5% of normal-weight participants had elevated waist circumference and 18% had elevated waist-to-hip ratio, while many people with obesity had low central-adiposity measures.
Among participants with obesity, elevated waist circumference accounted for 46% of atrial fibrillation events, 49% of heart failure events and 36% of coronary heart disease deaths.
JACC editors and an accompanying editorial said the findings support adding simple central-adiposity measures to routine primary-prevention risk assessment rather than relying on BMI alone.