Subclinical atherosclerosis in young adults, correlation with obesity

摘要

Obesity is a major health problem and is associated with increased prevalence of risk factors. The role of obesity as an independent predictor of atherosclerosis remains controversial. We evaluated if indices of obesity are associated with early subclinical atherosclerosis in a group of 95 asymptomatic young adults. We used two indicators of subclinical atherosclerosis: endothelial dysfunction evaluated non-invasively by determination of brachial flow mediated dilatation (FMD) and carotid intimae-media thickness (CIMT). We observed that body mass index and waist circumference were strongly associated with CIMT so obesity is an independent predictor of subclinical atherosclerosis. After adjustment of other risk variables there was no association between measures of obesity and endothelial function.