Association of obesity with anatomical and physical indices related to the radial artery in Korean adults

Obesity is a chronic disease risk factor. The objective of this study was to assess the association of obesity with anatomical and physical indices at the Cun, Guan, and Chi positions related to the radial artery. A total of 109 healthy subjects aged 30–50 years participated in this study. Binary logistic regression was performed to examine differences in physical and anatomical indices between normal and obese subject groups. The arterial diameter was associated with obesity at the Guan (adjusted p = 0.0441, adjusted OR = 1.65 [1.013–2.687]) and Chi positions (adjusted p = 0.0028, OR = 2.277 [1.327–3.908]) but not the Cun position. No association between the arterial blood flow velocity and obesity were observed at the three positions. The pulse depth index (PDI) was related to obesity at the Cun (adjusted p = 0.0038, OR = 2.119 [1.274–3.526]) and Guan positions (adjusted p = 0.0422, OR = 1.595 [1.017–2.503]). The high-frequency spectral energy proportion of the total pulse energy (HSEP) was significantly different only at the Chi position (adjusted p = 0.0418, OR = 0.571 [0.333–0.979]), and the spectral energy ratio (SER) was related to obesity only at the Guan position (adjusted p = 0.0468, OR = 1.76 [1.008–3.073]). Our study demonstrated that the arterial diameter, PDI, HSEP, and SER were associated with obesity at one or more positions. Our findings suggest that obesity may be considered in arterial pulse diagnosis and anatomical characteristics.