Relationship between abdominal obesity and other cardiovascular risk factors: cross sectional study of patients with symptomatic carotid disease.

Introduction: Obesity, particularly visceral obesity, is considered one of major risk factors for cardiovascular events.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate relationship between abdominal obesity and other cardiovascular risk factors.

Methods: The cross-sectional study involved 657 consecutive patients with verified carotid atherosclerosis. Carotid atherosclerosis was estimated by high resolution B-mode ultrasonography. Abdominal obesity was defined as waist circumference > 102 cm in men and > 88 cm in women.

Results: Abdominal obesity was present in 324 (49.3%) participants. Multivariate analyses showed that abdominal obesity was significantly positively associated with female sex, increased Baecke's Work Index of physical activity at work, years of school completed < 12, metabolic syndrome, increased triglycerides, hyperglycemia and high serum uric acid. Smoking, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, hypertension, increased total cholesterol, increased HDL and LDL cholesterols, increased high sensitive C-reactive protein, increased fibrinogen, anti-lipid therapy and anti-diabetic therapy were not significantly related to abdominal obesity.

Conclusion: Abdominal obesity among patients with symptomatic carotid disease is significantly related to other cardiovascular risk factors, especially metabolic syndrome, metabolic syndrome components and high level of serum uric acid.