Relationships of body mass index with blood pressure and serum cholesterol concentrations at different ages

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Only limited information has been available on the effects of age on the relationship between obesity and other atherosclerotic risk factors, such as blood pressure and serum lipids. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of age on the relationships of obesity with blood pressure and serum cholesterol concentrations. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study was performed on 157,902 workers in Yamagata, Japan. Blood pressure and serum total and HDL cholesterol concentrations were measured, and body mass index (BMI) and atherogenic index were calculated. The correlations of BMI with blood pressure, serum cholesterol concentrations and atherogenic index in different age groups were compared. RESULTS: BMI showed significant positive correlations with systolic and diastolic blood pressures, serum total cholesterol level and atherogenic index, and showed a significant negative correlation with serum HDL cholesterol level. The relationships of BMI with systolic and diastolic blood pressures became weaker with advancing age in both men and women after 30 and 40 years of age, respectively. The relationships of BMI with serum total cholesterol level and atherogenic index also became weaker with advancing age after 30 years of age in men and after 40 years of age in women. There was no age-dependent tendency in the relationship between BMI and HDL cholesterol, however. The above age-dependent changes were more prominent in men than in women. CONCLUSION: The relationships of obesity with blood pressure, serum total cholesterol level and atherogenic index in the elderly are much weaker than in the young.