Obesity in Middle Age Increases Risk of Later Heart Failure in Women-Results From the Prospective Population Study of Women and H70 Studies in Gothenburg, Sweden.
OBJECTIVE
Obesity has been shown to be a risk factor for heart failure (HF), but whether the association varies by age is not understood. The aim was to examine the impact of obesity/overweight on the risk of developing heart failure in women of different ages by analysing prospective data from 2 population studies.


METHODS
Data were obtained from the Population Study of Women in Gothenburg and the Gerontologic and Geriatric Population Studies concerning body mass index (BMI) collected in 1980 or later. Follow-up ended in 2006. Cox proportional hazard methods were used to determine associations between developing HF and BMI in 2574 women, 1243 aged 26-65 years and 1331 aged 66-76 years, at baseline.


RESULTS
Women aged 26-65 years at baseline with BMI ≥30 kg/m2 had an increased risk of developing HF (hazard ratio [HR] 2.61, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.56-4.35) even when controlling for age, glucose, smoking, alcohol consumption, serum triglycerides, and systolic blood pressure (reference group: women with BMI 18.5-22.4 kg/m2). Obese women aged 66-76 years at baseline did not show increased risk of developing HF (HR 0.55, 95% CI 0.23-1.29).


CONCLUSIONS
Obesity in middle-age women increases their risk of developing HF later in life. In contrast, obesity later in life shows no association with HF.
['Halldin|Anna-Karin|AK|', 'Schaufelberger|Maria|M|', 'Lernfelt|Bodil|B|', 'Björck|Lena|L|', 'Rosengren|Annika|A|', 'Lissner|Lauren|L|', 'Björkelund|Cecilia|C|']
D000328:Adult D000368:Aged D015331:Cohort Studies D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D005260:Female D005500:Follow-Up Studies D006333:Heart Failure D006801:Humans D008137:Longitudinal Studies D008875:Middle Aged D009765:Obesity D011159:Population Surveillance D011446:Prospective Studies D012307:Risk Factors D013548:Sweden
Obesity heart failure women longitudinal study