Correlation of obesity indices with QTc interval and Ankle Brachial Index in young adult population

Background: In recent times, obesity has acquired an epidemic status world over and in India. The association of obesity with vulnerability to cardiovascular ailments and peripheral vascular disease are well defined. The present study was designed to correlate between chosen obesity indices with electrocardiographic variables, Ankle brachial index(ABI) and systolic and diastolic blood pressure in asymptomatic young adults. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study performed on 100 subjects, with equal number of male and female participants. Blood pressure, Electrocardiogram, pulse rate were recorded in the participants after resting for ten minutes. Waist circumference, hip circumference, height and weight were measured using standard protocols defined by WHO. Student’s t test, ANOVA test and Pearsons correlation test were used to find the significance. Results: Among the randomly selected 100 subjects, 46% of male and female subjects were in the obese category (Body Mass Index >25.0). Almost 38% of male and 60% of female subjects had a Waist circumference more than the cut-off value. 28% of male and 88% of female subjects were found to have a Conicity Index (CI) more than the cut-off value. Leftward shift of the mean QRS axis correlated significantly with increasing obesity indices in both sexes. A persistent increase in systolic and diastolic blood pressure was observed among obese individuals. Results in male subject show that CI correlated with QTc interval (r=0.71; p=0.001) and diastolic blood pressure (r=0.32; p=0.02). Results among female subjects show that BMI correlated significantly with systolic(r=0.34; p=0.01) and diastolic blood pressure (r=0.35;p=0.01), WC positively correlated with systolic blood pressure(r=0.32; p=0.02) and there was a significant negative correlation between WC and ABI (r= -0.42; p=0.002) and CI correlated negatively with ABI (r= -0.36; p=0.01). Conclusion: Abdominal obesity is increasingly prevalent among young adults. The measurement of ankle-brachial index by using oscillometric blood pressure instrument can be used in primary health centers and relatively unequipped clinics for provisional diagnosis of Peripheral arterial disorder and related disorders.