Abstract 432: Comparison of Body Mass Index with Waist Circumference, Waist-to-height Ratio and Waist-to-hip Ratio as a Predictor of Incident Hypertension in Japan

Abstract

Objective: Obesity is an established risk factor for hypertension (HT). However, there are few studies to investigate which obesity-related indicator has better predictability for HT in Asian general population. We performed a population-based prospective cohort study in Japan to compare the predictability of four indicators (body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR)) for HT. Methods: Participants were 1,591 men and 1,973 women aged 30-84 years without HT at baseline. BMI(weight/height2), WC, WHtR(WC/height) and WHR(WC/Hip Circumference) were measured at baseline, and participants were followed for incidence of HT. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) of each indicator for incident HT by sex after adjusting for age, cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking. The paired homogeneity test was conducted to observe statistical differences of predictability between BMI and other indicators. Results: During mean follow-up of 7.2 years, 640 men and 685 women developed HT. HRs (95% CI) of BMI, WC, WHtR and WHR for incident HT by a 1 SD increase were 1.25(1.15,1.35), 1.21(1.12,1.31), 1.23(1.14,1.34) and 1.14(1.06,1.24) in men while 1.32(1.22,1.42), 1.27(1.18,1.37), 1.32(1.21,1.44) and 1.22(1.12,1.32) in women, respectively. There was no statistical difference of the predictability between BMI and the two indicators (WC and WHtR) in both sexes, but WHR was inferior to BMI with significance in men (p=0.02) or marginally significance in women (p=0.06). Conclusion: All four obesity-related indicators could predict incident HT in a Japanese population. BMI, WC and WHtR were similar in the predictability, but WHR was a little inferior to BMI.