Extent of Obesity Raises Stroke Risk

In a study exploring ischemic stroke risk in relation to a variety of obesity measures by sex and race, Hiroshi Yatsuya, from the University of Minnesota (USA), and colleagues analyzed data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (ARIC), involving 13,549 participants, ages 45 to 65 years, between 1987 and 1989, who were free of cardiovascular disease and cancer at the study’s start.  Assessing body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio and obtaining data on the incidences of stroke for a follow-up period of nearly 17 years, the researchers found that subjects with the highest BMI  were at 1.43 to 2.12 times increased risk of stroke (varying modestly by race and sex), as compared to the lowest BMI category. When waist circumference was used as a measure of obesity instead of BMI, those risk ratios ranged from 1.65 to 3.19; and 1.69 to 2.55 when waist-to-hip ratio was used. Thus, the researchers report that for any obesity measure, individuals in the highest category had approximately two times higher risk of stroke compared to the lowest category in each race-sex group. They conclude that: “Degree of obesity, defined by body mass index, waist circumference, or waist-to-hip ratio, was a significant risk factor for ischemic stroke regardless of sex or race.”