Top tertile of waist-to-hip ratio was strongly associated with an increased risk of stroke or TIA compared to the bottom tertile (OR 7.69; 95% CI 4.53-13.03).
Case-Control (n=1,137)
Does high abdominal adiposity increase the risk of stroke and TIA compared to BMI?
Markers of abdominal adiposity, such as waist-to-hip ratio and waist circumference, are stronger independent predictors of stroke and TIA risk than BMI.
Odds Ratio: 7.69 (95% CI 4.53–13.03)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Waist circumference has been shown to be a better predictor of cardiovascular risk than body mass index (BMI). Our case-control study aimed to evaluate the contribution of obesity and abdominal fat mass to the risk of stroke and transient ischemic attacks (TIA). METHODS: We recruited 1137 participants: 379 cases with stroke/TIA and 758 regional controls matched for age and sex. Associations between different markers of obesity (BMI, waist-to-hip ratio, waist circumference and waist-to-stature ratio) and risk of stroke/TIA were assessed by using conditional logistic regression adjusted for other risk factors. RESULTS: BMI showed a positive association with cerebrovascular risk which became nonsignificant after adjustment for physical inactivity, smoking, hypertension, and diabetes (odds ratio 1.18; 95% CI, 0.77 to 1.79, top tertile versus bottom tertile). Markers of abdominal adiposity were strongly associated with the risk of stroke/TIA. For the waist-to-hip ratio, adjusted odds ratios for every successive tertile were greater than that of the previous one (2nd tertile: 2.78, 1.57 to 4.91; 3rd tertile: 7.69, 4.53 to 13.03). Significant associations with the risk of stroke/TIA were also found for waist circumference and waist-to-stature ratio (odds ratio 4.25, 2.65 to 6.84 and odds ratio 4.67, 2.82 to 7.73, top versus bottom tertile after risk adjustment, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Markers of abdominal adiposity showed a graded and significant association with risk of stroke/TIA, independent of other vascular risk factors. Waist circumference and related ratios can better predict cerebrovascular events than BMI.
Winter et al. (Fri,) conducted a case-control in Stroke and transient ischemic attacks (TIA) (n=1,137). Waist-to-hip ratio (top tertile) vs. Bottom tertile was evaluated on Risk of stroke/TIA (OR 7.69, 95% CI 4.53-13.03). Top tertile of waist-to-hip ratio was strongly associated with an increased risk of stroke or TIA compared to the bottom tertile (OR 7.69; 95% CI 4.53-13.03).
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