Relationship between normal weight central obesity and arterial stiffness in Chinese adults with hypertension

Background and aims: Normal weight central obesity (NWCO) is a category of obesity that is characterized by having a normal BMI and presence of abdominal obesity. Recently, studies have reported that NWCO was associated with the cardiovascular diseases. The researches exploring the relationship between NWCO and arterial stiffness are limited. So this study intended to investigate the relationship between NWCO and arterial stiffness in Chinese adults with hypertension. Methods and results: This study is a sub-study of the China H-type Hypertension Registry Study. We included 8580 Chinese hypertensive patients with normal weight (18.5 kg/m(2) <= BMI <24 kg/m(2)). Central obesity was defined as waist-height ratio >= 0.5, and participants were categorized into two groups: NWCO and normal weight and no central obesity (NWNO). Using the brachial-ankle pulse wave conduction velocity (baPWV) assessed the arterial stiffness. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to evaluate relationship between NWCO and baPWV. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate relationship between NWCO and arterial stiffness. Of 8580 participants, 4327 (50.4 %) were NWCO. The multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that people with NWCO had higher baPWV value (total people: beta = 38.33, 95%CI 22.82-53.84; men: beta = 39.87, 95%CI 18.43-61.32; women: beta = 29.65, 95%CI 7.20-52.09) compared with NWNO. The baPWV >= 1800 cm/s was defined as arterial stiffness, and the multiple logistic regression analysis showed that people with NWCO associated higher arterial stiffness risk (total people: OR = 1.25, 95%CI 1.12-1.39; men: OR = 1.29, 95%CI 1.11-1.50; women: OR = 1.18, 95%CI 1.01-1.38). Conclusion: NWCO is significantly related to increased risk of arterial stiffness in Chinese adults with hypertension.