Relationship between weight-adjusted-waist index and blood pressure as well as incident hypertension among middle-aged and elderly Chinese: A longitudinal study

Abstract

Background and aimThe Weight-Adjusted Waist Index (WWI) is a novel obesity metric linked to metabolic disorders. Its relationship with blood pressure and hypertension prevalence in middle-aged and elderly Chinese is unclear. This study examined the association between WWI, blood pressure, and hypertension incidence. Methods and resultsThis cross-sectional study included 9298 participants from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, with 4120 non-hypertensive individuals enrolled in the cohort study. In the cross-sectional analysis, WWI was positively associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP) (Beta 0.88, 95% CI: 0.57–1.21, p < 0.001), showing stronger correlations than waist circumference (WC) (Beta 0.20, 95% CI: 0.16–0.23, p < 0.001) and body mass index (BMI) (Beta 0.63, 95% CI: 0.52–0.74, p < 0.001). WWI also showed a positive association with diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (Beta 0.51, 95% CI: 0.32–0.69, p < 0.001), stronger than those with WC (Beta 0.13, 95% CI: 0.11–0.15, p < 0.001) and BMI (Beta 0.43, 95% CI: 0.37–0.50, p < 0.001). In the longitudinal cohort study, there were 1325 (32%) incident cases of hypertension by the end of follow-up. WWI was positively associated with incident hypertension (OR 1.11, 95% CI: 1.04–1.18, p = 0.001), with a stronger predictive value than WC (OR 1.02, 95% CI: 1.01–1.03, p < 0.001) and BMI (OR 1.04, 95% CI: 1.02–1.06, p < 0.001). ConclusionElevated WWI may serve as an independent risk factor for incident hypertension in the middle-aged and elderly Chinese population.