Metabolic Risk Factors and Markers of Cardiovascular and Renal Damage in Overweight Subjects

Background: The prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States has dramatically increased. Obesity clusters with a variety of hemodynamic and metabolic disturbances that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. In this study we evaluated whether overweight subjects with hypertension also manifest hemodynamic and metabolic abnormalities compared with individuals of normal weight.

Methods: In a cohort of 129 patients with essential hypertension we measured the relationship between body mass index (BMI), blood pressure (BP), insulin sensitivity, lipid profile, and markers of organ damage including thickness of the carotid artery (IMT) and urine albumin excretion (UAE). A total of 41 normotensive, age-matched, healthy individuals served as control subjects.

Results: Hypertensive individuals showed higher levels of serum triglycerides, insulin area-under-the-curve (AUC), UAE, and greater IMT than normotensive subjects. Overweight hypertensive subjects showed higher levels of serum triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, glucose AUC, insulin AUC, UAE, and IMT than hypertensive subjects with normal body weight (BMI <25). Night-time systolic BP was higher and night-time fall in BP was lower among overweight than among normal-weight hypertensive patients. Simple regression analysis showed that BMI was correlated with age, UAE, BP, insulin and glucose AUC, serum triglycerides, cholesterol, and IMT in hypertensive subjects. However multiple regression analyses showed that BMI significantly correlated only with UAE.

Conclusions: The study results show that increased body weight clusters with a variety of hemodynamic and metabolic abnormalities in hypertensive subjects. However multiple regression analyses showed a significant correlation only between BMI and UAE, a marker and predictor of cardiovascular and renal disease.