Large thigh circumference is associated with lower blood pressure in overweight and obese individuals: a community-based study

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

Objective

A small thigh circumference is associated with an increased risk of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and total mortality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between thigh circumference and hypertension in the middle-aged and elderly population.

Methods

A total of 9520 individuals aged 40 years and older with measurement of thigh circumference were available for analysis. The measurement of thigh circumference was performed directly below the gluteal fold of the thigh. The association of thigh circumference with hypertension was tested in logistic regression analyses and reported as odds ratio (OR) with 95% CI.

Results

Thigh circumference was negatively correlated with systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, fasting glucose, and total cholesterol. Compared with the lowest thigh circumference tertile group, the risk of hypertension was significantly lower in the highest tertile group, both in overweight individuals (OR 0.68; 95% CI 0.59–0.79, P < 0.001) and obese individuals (OR 0.51; 95% CI 0.38–0.70, P < 0.001).

Conclusion

In the present study, large thigh circumference is associated with lower risk of hypertension in overweight and obese Chinese individuals.

Related collections

Most cited references 18

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Relation of body fat distribution to metabolic complications of obesity.

A. H. Kissebah, N. Vydelingum, R. Murray … (1982)

The importance of body fat distribution as a predictor of metabolic aberrations was evaluated in 9 nonobese and 25 obese, apparently healthy women. Plasma glucose and insulin levels during oral glucose loading were significantly higher in women with predominantly upper body segment obesity than in women with lower body segment obesity. Of the former group, 10 of 16 subjects had diabetic glucose tolerance results, while none of the latter group was diabetic. Fasting plasma triglyceride levels were also significantly higher in the upper body segment obese women. The site of adiposity in the upper body segment obese women was comprised of large fat cells, while in the lower body segment obese subjects, it was formed of normal size cells. In both types of obesity, abdominal fat cell size correlated significantly with postprandial plasma glucose and insulin levels. Thigh fat cell size gave no indication as to the presence of metabolic complications. Thigh adipocytes were also resistant to epinephrine-stimulated lipolysis, presumably due to an increase in alpha-adrenergic receptors. Thus, in women, the sites of fat predominance offer an important prognostic marker for glucose intolerance, hyperinsulinemia, and hypertriglyceridemia. This association may be related to the disparate morphology and metabolic behavior of fat cells associated with different body fat distributions.

0 comments Cited 235 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Obesity, regional body fat distribution, and the metabolic syndrome in older men and women.

Bret H Goodpaster, Shanthi Krishnaswami, Tamara B Harris … (2005)

The metabolic syndrome is a disorder that includes dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, and hypertension and is associated with an increased risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. We determined whether patterns of regional fat deposition are associated with metabolic syndrome in older adults. A cross-sectional study was performed that included a random, population-based, volunteer sample of Medicare-eligible adults within the general communities of Pittsburgh, Pa, and Memphis, Tenn. The subjects consisted of 3035 men and women aged 70 to 79 years, of whom 41.7% were black. Metabolic syndrome was defined by Adult Treatment Panel III criteria, including serum triglyceride level, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level, glucose level, blood pressure, and waist circumference. Visceral, subcutaneous abdominal, intermuscular, and subcutaneous thigh adipose tissue was measured by computed tomography. Visceral adipose tissue was associated with the metabolic syndrome in men who were of normal weight (odds ratio, 95% confidence interval: 2.1, 1.6-2.9), overweight (1.8, 1.5-2.1), and obese (1.2, 1.0-1.5), and in women who were of normal weight (3.3, 2.4-4.6), overweight (2.4, 2.0-3.0), and obese (1.7, 1.4-2.1), adjusting for race. Subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue was associated with the metabolic syndrome only in normal-weight men (1.3, 1.1-1.7). Intermuscular adipose tissue was associated with the metabolic syndrome in normal-weight (2.3, 1.6-3.5) and overweight (1.2, 1.1-1.4) men. In contrast, subcutaneous thigh adipose tissue was inversely associated with the metabolic syndrome in obese men (0.9, 0.8-1.0) and women (0.9, 0.9-1.0). In addition to general obesity, the distribution of body fat is independently associated with the metabolic syndrome in older men and women, particularly among those of normal body weight.

0 comments Cited 183 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Association between regional body fat and cardiovascular disease risk among postmenopausal women with normal body mass index

Guo-Chong Chen, Rhonda Arthur, Neil M Iyengar … (2019)

Central adiposity is associated with increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, even among people with normal body mass index (BMI). We tested the hypothesis that regional body fat deposits (trunk or leg fat) are associated with altered risk of CVD among postmenopausal women with normal BMI. We included 2683 postmenopausal women with normal BMI (18.5 to <25 kg/m2) who participated in the Women’s Health Initiative and had no known CVD at baseline. Body composition was determined by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Incident CVD events including coronary heart disease and stroke were ascertained through February 2017. During a median 17.9 years of follow-up, 291 incident CVD cases occurred. After adjustment for demographic, lifestyle, and clinical risk factors, neither whole-body fat mass nor fat percentage was associated with CVD risk. Higher percent trunk fat was associated with increased risk of CVD [highest vs. lowest quartile hazard ratio (HR) = 1.91, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.33–2.74; P-trend <0.001], whereas higher percent leg fat was associated with decreased risk of CVD (highest vs. lowest quartile HR = 0.62, 95% CI 0.43–0.89; P-trend = 0.008). The association for trunk fat was attenuated yet remained significant after further adjustment for waist circumference or waist-to-hip ratio. Higher percent trunk fat combined with lower percent leg fat was associated with particularly high risk of CVD (HR comparing extreme groups = 3.33, 95% CI 1.46–7.62). Among postmenopausal women with normal BMI, both elevated trunk fat and reduced leg fat are associated with increased risk of CVD.

0 comments Cited 108 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

All references

Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Endocr Connect

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Endocr Connect

Journal ID (hwp): EC

Title: Endocrine Connections

Publisher: Bioscientifica Ltd (Bristol )

ISSN (Electronic): 2049-3614

Publication date Collection: April 2020

Publication date (Electronic): 11 March 2020

Volume: 9

Issue: 4

Pages: 271-278

Affiliations

[1 ]Department of Endocrinology , Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China

[2 ]Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism , Institute of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China

[3 ]Department of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases , Shanghai Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shanghai Clinical Center for Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China

Author notes

Correspondence should be addressed to Z Yang or L Qin or Q Su: yangzhen@ 123456xinhuamed.com.cn or qinli@ 123456xinhuamed.com.cn or suqing@ 123456xinhuamed.com.cn

Author information

Zhen Yang http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0225-7099

Article

Publisher ID: EC-19-0539

DOI: 10.1530/EC-19-0539

PMC ID: 7159266

PubMed ID: 32247281

SO-VID: 359d7ddb-ae40-4164-811b-7bc80f142547

License:

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

The flagship journal of the Society for Endocrinology. Learn more

Large thigh circumference is associated with lower blood pressure in overweight and obese individuals: a community-based study

Read this article at

Abstract

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Related collections

Bioscientifica Open Endocrinology

Most cited references 18

Relation of body fat distribution to metabolic complications of obesity.

Obesity, regional body fat distribution, and the metabolic syndrome in older men and women.

Association between regional body fat and cardiovascular disease risk among postmenopausal women with normal body mass index

Author and article information

Journal

Affiliations

Author notes

Author information

Article

History

Categories

Comments

Comment on this article

Similar content 274

Cited by 5

Most referenced authors 3,849