Changes and variations of body weight as risk factors for coronary heart disease

Abstract

Weight variations are a common phenomenon. Therefore, concern has been raised about the association between weight changes and weight variations and coronary heart disease (CHD). The aim of this study was to estimate the influence of weight change and weight variations as risk factors for coronary heart disease. The investigation was conducted as an observational cross-sectional study, including 102 participants of both genders: 61 patients with CHD and 41 healthy controls. All participants underwent anthropometric measurements and completed a questionnaire that included 1) weight changes in adulthood (maximum and minimum weight), 2) presence and number of weight variations in the 10 years prior to the onset of disease and 3) the size of weight change (weight gain or weight loss in kg). One weight variation was defined as weight loss followed by weight gain for more than 10% of body weight, or about 7 kg. Multivariant logistic regression was used for the estimation of significant predictors for the occurrence of coronary heart disease. Participants with CHD had higher values of body weight in adulthood compared to healthy controls, larger number of weight variations in the last 10 years, and more frequently reported weight gain and weight loss for more than 10 kg. The highest risk for the occurrence of coronary heart disease was observed for participants who had more than 3 weight variations for 10% (OR = 2.13; 95% CI = 0.98-5.48), those with weight loss over 10 kg (OR = 2.16; 95% CI = 1.71-2.72) and those with weight gain over 10 kg (OR = 2.71: 95% CI = 1.08-6.83), regardless of gender, age, smoking, body mass index and blood pressure. Several mechanisms are suggested to explain the relationship between weight changes and variations and coronary heart disease, including changes in plasma lipid levels, insulin levels. decrease of HDL cholesterol, increase of C-reactive protein and increase of blood pressure. This study suggests that frequent and very intense weight changes can be considered important predictors for the occurrence of coronary heart disease.