Cadernos de Saúde Pública (Feb 2022)

Body fat distribution and its risk for cardiovascular events in 10 years: Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil)

  • Bárbara Bruna Rodrigues de Oliveira,
  • Carolina Gomes Coelho,
  • Sandhi Maria Barreto,
  • Luana Giatti,
  • Larissa Fortunato Araújo

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1590/0102-311x00346520
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 38, no. 2

Abstract

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Body fat distribution seems to have different effects in cardiovascular diseases (CVD). We aimed to estimate the associations between lower limbs and trunk fat ratio and the 10-year CVD risk, and isolated risk factors in men and women. A total of 10,917 participants from ELSA-Brasil were eligible for this cross-sectional study. Associations between lower limb/trunk fat ratio with the percentage of 10-year CVD risk - according to the Framingham Risk Score - and its risk factors (systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol, diabetes, and use of antihypertensive medication) were performed using generalized linear models, linear and logistic regressions. All analyses were stratified by gender and adjustments were made by age, self-reported skin color, educational attainment, alcohol consumption, leisure physical activity, hypolipidemic drug use and, for women, menopausal status. In this study, 55.91% were women, with a mean age of 52.68 (SD = 6.57) years. A higher lower limb/trunk fat ratio was related to lower 10-year CVD risk, as well as a reduction in systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, and antihypertensive drug use, also an increasing HDL-cholesterol in both genders, but this relationship was stronger in women. Besides, a protective relationship to diabetes was observed in women. Higher fat accumulation in the lower body, when compared to the trunk, seems to have a lower risk of CVD and associated risk factors - even in the presence of fat in the abdominal region - with women presenting lower risks than men.

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