The Relationship between Body Mass Index and the Severity of Coronary Artery Disease in Patients Referred for Coronary Angiography

• Main Authors: Anne B. Gregory, Kendra K. Lester, Deborah M. Gregory, Laurie K. Twells, William K. Midodzi, Neil J. Pearce
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hindawi Limited 2017-01-01
• Series: Cardiology Research and Practice
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/5481671
• ISSN: 2090-8016; 2090-0597

Background and Aim. Obesity is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and may be associated with more severe coronary artery disease (CAD); however, the relationship between body mass index [BMI (kg/m2)] and CAD severity is uncertain and debatable. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between BMI and angiographic severity of CAD. Methods. Duke Jeopardy Score (DJS), a prognostic tool predictive of 1-year mortality in CAD, was assigned to angiographic data of patients ≥18 years of age (N=8,079). Patients were grouped into 3 BMI categories: normal (18.5–24.9 kg/m2), overweight (25.0–29.9 kg/m2), and obese (≥30 kg/m2); and multivariable adjusted hazard ratios for 1-year all-cause and cardiac-specific mortality were calculated. Results. Cardiac risk factor prevalence (e.g., diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia) significantly increased with increasing BMI. Unadjusted all-cause and cardiac-specific 1-year mortality tended to rise with incremental increases in DJS, with the exception of DJS 6 (p<0.001). After adjusting for potential confounders, no significant association of BMI and all-cause (HR 0.70, 95% CI .48–1.02) or cardiac-specific (HR 1.11, 95% CI .64–1.92) mortality was found. Conclusions. This study failed to detect an association of BMI with 1-year all-cause or cardiac-specific mortality after adjustment for potential confounding variables.