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Body mass index, abdominal fatness, and hypertension incidence: a dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 32, pages 321–333 (2018)Cite this article

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Abstract

Despite the established relationship of obesity to hypertension, the question as to whether there is a linear association between these two morbidities is unanswered. To quantitatively evaluate the relationship between obesity and hypertension, we carried out a dose–response meta-analysis of studies that looked at the relationship of different adiposity measures to hypertension. We searched PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases for articles published before 27 June 2017. A random-effects model was used to pool relative risks and 95% confidence intervals. Restricted cubic spline analysis was used to model the relationship. A total of 59 studies were included. Fifty-seven cohort studies with 125,071 incident cases among 830,685 participants were included in the analysis of body mass index and hypertension with the summary relative risk for per 5-unit increment in body mass index of 1.50 (95% confidence interval: 1.40–1.59). We found that the risk of hypertension in the body mass index analysis was greater in populations where the baseline body mass index was <25 kg/m2. The summary relative risk for a 10-cm increase in waist circumference was 1.25 (95% confidence interval: 1.19–1.32) and per 0.1-unit increase in waist-to-hip ratio was 1.27 (95% confidence interval: 1.18–1.37). This meta-analysis suggests that in normal range of obesity indexes, as lean as possible may be the best suggestion to prevent hypertension incidence.

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Wen Zhou, Yuanyuan Shi.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, 100 Kexue Avenue, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450001, China

    Wen Zhou, Yuanyuan Shi, Zhiguang Ping, Chongjian Wang, Xuejiao Liu, Jie Lu, Zhen-xing Mao, Dongdong Zhang, Zhongyan Tian, Lulu Zhang & Linlin Li

  2. Department of Clinical Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Science, Zhengzhou University, 100 Kexue Avenue, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450001, China

    Yu-qian Li

  3. Department of Endocrinology, Military Hospital of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, 18 Jinshui Road, Henan, 450003, China

    Jingzhi Zhao & Lei Yin

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Zhou, W., Shi, Y., Li, Yq. et al. Body mass index, abdominal fatness, and hypertension incidence: a dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies. J Hum Hypertens 32, 321–333 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41371-018-0046-1

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