WASHINGTON, D.C.—Waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) in CKD patients is an independent predictor of cardiac event risk, researchers say.
Essam Elsayed, MD, MS, and his colleagues at the Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston analyzed data from 1,669 individuals with CKD, which was defined as a glomerular filtration rate below 60 mL/min per 1.73 m2. Subjects had a mean age of 70.3 years and 33.5% had baseline CVD. Their mean WHR was 0.97 in men and 0.90 in women. A total of 334 cardiac events occurred over nine years. WHR is calculated by dividing the waist measurement by the hip measurement.
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Subjects in the top tertile of WHR were at 36% higher risk of cardiac events compared with those in the bottom tertile, after adjusting for various potential confounders, the investigators reported. Each 0.1 increase in WHR was independently associated with an 18% increased risk of cardiac events. Dr. Elsayed’s group found no association between BMI and CVD risk.
“WHR might be a helpful tool, in conjunction with other clinical and laboratory data, for risk stratification in patients with CKD,” the team stated in a poster presented here at Renal Week 2007.
They noted that the results of their study are primarily generalizable to patients with CKD stage 3. The researchers also pointed out that BMI may not be an accurate measure of obesity in CKD patients.
An elevated WHR reflects an increase in visceral fat and a relative lack of gluteal muscle, both associated with CVD in the general population, researchers noted.
