Association between obesity phenotypes and incident hypertension among Chinese adults: a prospective cohort study

- We examined the risk of hypertension according to obesity phenotype in Chinese adults.
- Data collected from the China Health and Nutrition Survey were analyzed.
- Metabolically healthy overweight/obese individuals showed higher risks for hypertension compared with healthy non-overweight/obese group.

ObjectivesTo explore the association between obesity phenotype and the risk of hypertension among Chinese adults.Study designA prospective cohort study.MethodsTwo waves of data were collected in 2009 and 2011 by the China Health Nutrition Survey. According to International Diabetes Federation and Chinese obesity criteria, participants were divided into four groups: metabolically healthy non-overweight/obesity (MHNO), metabolically healthy overweight/obesity (MHO), metabolically abnormal non-overweight/obesity (MANO), and metabolically abnormal overweight/obesity (MAO). Logistic regression model was performed to estimate the risk of hypertension with obesity phenotype.ResultsAmong a total of 4604 adults aged 18-65 years at baseline, 467 developed hypertension during the 2-year follow-up period. After adjusting for several potential confounders, significantly increased risks for hypertension were found for participants in MHO (odd ratio [OR]: 1.78, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.39-2.27), MANO (OR: 1.71, 95% CI: 1.02-2.86), and MAO (OR: 3.35, 95% CI: 2.54-4.42) group compared with the MHNO group.ConclusionMetabolically abnormal individuals, regardless of their body weight status, showed significantly higher risks for hypertension compared with healthy non-overweight/obese group. Furthermore, MHO individuals had significantly increased risk of incident hypertension.