Individual and joint associations of obesity and metabolic health parameters on arterial stiffness: Evidence from the UK Biobank
2025

Obesity and Metabolic Health's Impact on Arterial Stiffness

Sample size: 162590 publication 10 minutes Evidence: high

Author Information

Author(s): Ananda Roshan A., Solomon Bethlehem, Ray Kausik K.

Primary Institution: School of Public Health, Imperial College London

Hypothesis

Does excess adiposity without metabolic abnormalities reflect a benign phenotype regarding arterial stiffness?

Conclusion

Excess adiposity and metabolic abnormalities are independently associated with increased arterial stiffness, indicating that metabolically healthy individuals with overweight and obesity are not benign groups.

Supporting Evidence

  • Individuals with obesity and metabolic abnormalities had the highest arterial stiffness index.
  • Participants with normal BMI and metabolic abnormalities had similar arterial stiffness to those who are overweight without metabolic issues.
  • The study included a large sample size of 162,590 participants, enhancing the reliability of the findings.

Takeaway

Being overweight or obese can make your blood vessels stiffer, even if you don't have other health problems. This means you still need to be careful about your health.

Methodology

The study analyzed data from UK Biobank participants with recorded BMI and arterial stiffness index, using multivariate-adjusted linear regression.

Potential Biases

Potential misclassification bias from exposure measurements and residual confounding cannot be eliminated.

Limitations

The study may not be representative of the entire UK population and is subject to healthy volunteer selection bias.

Participant Demographics

Mean age of participants was 57 years, with 55% female and a majority being of White ethnicity.

Statistical Information

P-Value

p<0.001

Confidence Interval

95% CI for ASI comparisons ranged from 0.30 to 1.12.

Statistical Significance

p<0.001

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1111/dom.16090

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