Age and gender aspects of the association of generalized obesity with development of fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events (results of the prospective cohort study “Interepepid”)

Background. Currently, obesity has become one of the most important medical and social problems in the world due to its high prevalence. Numerous literature data indicate that high BMI is associated with increased mortality from cardiovascular diseases.

The aim: to study the relationship between overweight and generalized obesity with the development of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events among residents of the Chui region of the Kyrgyz Republic, taking into account gender and age.

Material and methods. This study was carried out as part of the international crosssectional epidemiological study “Interepid”. The total follow-up period was 7 years. Life status at the end of the follow-up period was monitored in 1096 respondents out of 1341 initial cohorts (response – 82.1 %). The endpoints were cases of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events. The frequency of events was assessed using methods of analysis of survival (Cox proportional hazard regression model, parametric survival models, survival by the Kaplan – Meier method).

Results. A total of 181 cases of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events (16.44 %) were recorded during the follow-up. In persons with normal body weight, the incidence of cardiovascular complications was 10 %. In overweight individuals, the value of this indicator increased and reached 17.99 % (p˂ 0.001), and in individuals with obesity – 24.5 % (p˂ 0.0001). The increase in the frequency of events with the increase in body mass index did not depend on the gender of the respondents but was typical only for people under 60 years of age. For elderly patients, there was no relationship between BMI and the development of cardiovascular complications. In contrast, the relative risk had an insignificant tendency to decrease by 2.6 % for every 1 kg/m2 increase in body mass index (RR – 0.974; 95% CI: 0.924–1.025).

Conclusion. The increase of body mass index above 25 kg/m2 is an independent risk factor for the development of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events in the analyzed cohort of the Chui region residents, regardless of gender, but only in persons under 60 years of age. 

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