Waist circumference, body mass index, and risk for stroke in older people: a 15 year longitudinal population study of 70- year-olds.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate waist circumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI) at age 70 as risk factors for stroke.


METHODS
Cohort study of 70-year-olds with 15-year follow-up.


METHODS
Geriatric Medicine Department, Göteborg University, Sweden.


METHODS
Two thousand two hundred eighty-seven (1,045 men; 1,242 women) 70-year-olds examined between 1971 and 1981 in Göteborg, Sweden.


METHODS
Cox regression model was used to calculate relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for first-ever stroke (fatal and nonfatal) in reference to the lowest quartiles of WC and BMI. Tests for trend were performed fitting WC and BMI in their original continuous form.


RESULTS
In men and women, RRs for stroke, in the highest WC quartile were 1.65 (95% CI = 1.08-2.51) and 1.31 (95% CI = 0.88-1.92), respectively, after adjustment for cohorts, smoking habit, coronary heart disease (CHD), diabetes mellitus, total cholesterol (TC), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and height at age 70. In men, RR for stroke in the highest BMI quartile (> or=28 kg/m2) was 1.68 (95% CI = 1.12-2.53) after adjustment for cohorts, smoking habits, CHD, diabetes mellitus, TC, and SBP at age 70. In women, adjusted RRs for stroke across the BMI quartiles were not significantly different. In men, population attributable fractions of stroke were 24.8% and 25.2% for the highest quartiles of WC and BMI, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
High WC (> or =99 cm) and BMI (> or =28 kg/m2) are risks for stroke in older men but not in older women.
Dey
Debashish K
DK
Departments of Geriatric Medicine and Clinical Nutrition, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden. debashish.dey@geriatrik.gu.se
Rothenberg
Elisabet
E
Sundh
Valter
V
Bosaeus
Ingvar
I
Steen
Bertil
B
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000886:Anthropometry; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001824:Body Constitution; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000150:complications; D048909:Diabetes Complications; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D020521:Stroke / Q000209:etiology*
D002784:Cholesterol