Association of metabolically abnormal but normal weight (MANW) and metabolically healthy but obese (MHO) individuals with arterial stiffness and carotid atherosclerosis

Objective

Despite recent interest in differential impact of body size phenotypes on cardiovascular outcomes and mortality, studies evaluating the association between body size phenotypes and indicators of atherosclerosis are limited. This study investigated the relationship of metabolically abnormal but normal weight (MANW) and metabolically healthy but obese (MHO) individuals with arterial stiffness and carotid atherosclerosis in Korean adults without cardiovascular disease.

Methods

A total of 1012 participants (575 men and 437 women, mean age 50.8 years), who underwent a health examination between April 2012 and May 2013 were prospectively enrolled based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Study subjects were classified according to body mass index (BMI) and the presence/absence of metabolic syndrome.

Results

The prevalence of metabolically healthy normal weight (MHNW), MANW, MHO, and metabolically abnormal obese (MAO) were 54.84%, 6.42%, 22.83%, and 15.91%, respectively. Individuals with MANW had significantly higher brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity and maximal carotid intima-media thickness values than those with MHO, after adjusting for age and gender (P = 0.026 and P = 0.018, respectively). The odds ratio (OR) of arterial stiffness and carotid atherosclerosis in the MANW group were significantly higher than in the MHNW group in unadjusted models. Furthermore, multivariable models showed that increased OR of carotid atherosclerosis in the MANW group persisted even after adjusting for confounding factors (OR = 2.98, 95% CI = [1.54, 5.73], P = 0.011).

Conclusions

Compared to MHNW or MHO subjects, Korean men and women with the MANW phenotype exhibited increased arterial stiffness and carotid atherosclerosis.

Clinical trials no

NCT01594710.