Background: Hypertension and obesity are recognized as modifiable risk factors for stroke, but their combined effects are unknown. This study aimed to explore the combined effects of hypertension and general or central obesity on the risk of ischemic stroke in a middle-aged and elderly population.
Methods: The data of 11,731 participants (53.5 ± 10.5 years old) were analyzed from the Northeast China Rural Cardiovascular Health Study, 2012– 2013. General obesity (GO) was defined by body mass index (BMI); central obesity (CO) was measured by waist circumference (WC), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHpR).
Results: The overall prevalence of ischemic stroke was 3.1%. After adjusting for age and sex, the odds ratios for having ischemic stroke were 4.31 (3.14– 5.91) among subjects with hypertension, 1.79 (1.40– 2.30) with GO, 1.94 (1.54– 2.43), 1.98 (1.54– 2.53), and 1.65 (1.33– 2.06) with CO measured by WC, WHtR and WHpR, respectively. After full adjustment for potential confounders, the combinations of hypertension and obesity indices (including BMI, WC, WHtR and WHpR) were associated with the highest risk of ischemic stroke, especially in women, which were respectively 7.3-fold, 9.3-fold, 9.9-fold and 7.6-fold higher than that of individuals without both conditions.
Conclusion: Our study results suggest that women with both hypertension and obesity, no matter defined by BMI, WC, WHtR or WHpR, were more likely to have ischemic stroke. A better understanding of the combined effects of these risk factors can help promote primary prevention in susceptible subgroups.
Keywords: ischemic stroke, hypertension, general obesity, central obesity