Joint influences of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension on indices of ventricular remodeling: Findings from the community-based Framingham Heart Study.

Abstract

IntroductionObesity, hypertension, and diabetes are independently associated with cardiac remodeling and frequently co-cluster. The conjoint and separate influences of these conditions on cardiac remodeling have not been investigated.Materials and methodsWe evaluated 5,741 Framingham Study participants (mean age 50 years, 55% women) who underwent echocardiographic measurements of left ventricular (LV) mass (LVM), LV ejection fraction (LVEF), global longitudinal strain (GLS), mitral E/e', left atrial end-systolic (peak) dimension (LASD) and emptying fraction (LAEF). We used multivariable generalized linear models to estimate the adjusted-least square means of these measures according to cross-classified categories of body mass index (BMI; normal, overweight and obese), hypertension (yes/no), and diabetes (yes/no).ResultsWe observed statistically significant interactions of BMI category, hypertension, and diabetes with LVM, LVEF, GLS, and LAEF (p for all 3-way interactions ConclusionsObesity, hypertension, and diabetes interact synergistically to influence cardiac remodeling. These findings may explain the markedly heightened risk of heart failure and cardiovascular disease when these factors co-cluster.