The impact of abdominal obesity on the plasmatic lipid levels in the older people

Abstract

Model of the study: cross-sectional. Introduction : There are reports of an increase in the prevalence of dislipidemias with aging. It is necessary to determine the true impact of centripetal obesity on plasma levels lipids of older people. Objectives : To verify the possible association between the abdominal circumference, a marker of visceral fat, with the levels of blood lipids. Methods  : The study included 98 patients with 60 to 79 years of age, residents in the western district of the city of Ribeirão Preto, 58 women. The mean age of the volunteers was 66.3 years. The following data were analyzed: abdominal circumference, hip circumference, triglycerides, total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol. The abdominal circumference was measured as a surrogate for centripetal obesity. Results : There was no association between total cholesterol and abdominal circumference (p = 0.88). There was also no association with different types of obesity (p=0.73 and p=0.60 for men and women, respectively). The association between triglycerides and abdominal circumference was significant (p <0.0001), but when obesity was classified according to types, there was association between triglycerides and abdominal circumference in women (p=0.002) but not in men (p=0.07). There was negative association between HDL cholesterol and abdominal circumference (p=0.018), however when obesity types were analyzed separately the association between HDL and abdominal circumference was not significant (p=0.40 and p=0.07 for men and women, respectively). Conclusion : Probably, in the old population, the cardiovascular risk resulting from centripetal obesity has not, in its etiology, the increase of lipids of the blood only.