Key Publications
February 25, 2010
General and abdominal adiposity and risk of death in Europe.
N Engl J Med 2008 13;359:2105-20
Pischon T, Boeing H, Hoffmann K, Bergmann M, Schulze MB, Overvad K, van der Schouw YT, Spencer E, Moons KG, Tjønneland A, Halkjaer J, Jensen MK, Stegger J, Clavel-Chapelon F, Boutron-Ruault MC, Chajes V, Linseisen J, Kaaks R, Trichopoulou A, Trichopoulos D, Bamia C, Sieri S, Palli D, Tumino R, Vineis P, Panico S, Peeters PH, May AM, Bueno-de-Mesquita HB, van Duijnhoven FJ, Hallmans G, Weinehall L, Manjer J, Hedblad B, Lund E, Agudo A, Arriola L, Barricarte A, Navarro C, Martinez C, Quirós JR, Key T, Bingham S, Khaw KT, Boffetta P, Jenab M, Ferrari P, Riboli E
Description
Considering the well-accepted notion that abdominal obesity is more closely associated with cardiovascular disease risk than body weight, this epidemiological study examined the association of both general and abdominal obesity with the risk of death in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. During a mean follow-up of 9.7 years, 14,723 of the initial 359,387 participants died from various causes. After adjustment for body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio were highly associated with the risk of death and this association tended to be stronger among participants with a lower BMI, as compared with those who had a higher BMI. The current results highlight the importance of assessing the distribution of body fat even among persons of normal weight. The addition of waist circumference or waist-to-hip ratio to BMI more accurately stratified participants into higher-risk or lower-risk categories. These data suggest that both general and abdominal adiposity are associated with the risk of death and support the use of waist circumference or waist-to-hip ratio in addition to BMI to better assess the risk of obesity/abdominal obesity.
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