Association of carotid intima-media thickness and metabolic health and obesity status

Objective To explore the relationship between carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and metabolic health and obesity status. Methods A community-based study was conducted in rural communities in Beijing. Biochemical test, CIMT measurement, physical examination and questionnaire investigation were performed. Participants were divided into four groups according to their metabolic status and body mass index (BMI) to analyze the relationship between CIMT and metabolic health and obesity status. Results A total of 1 648 participants were recruited. The average age was (55.4±11.0) years old and men accounted for 45.8%. Logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting for age, gender, smoke, drink, education, physical activity, diabetes family history and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), the CIMT thickening rate were higher in metabolically unhealthy normal weight group (OR=1.61, 95% CI:1.01-2.56, P=0.046) and metabolically unhealthy obesity group (OR=2.10, 95% CI:1.32-3.32, P=0.002) than that in metabolically healthy normal weight group. Conclusion Metabolically unhealthy normal weight and metabolically unhealthy obesity might be risk factors for CIMT thickening, indicating that metabolically unhealthy status might have more influence on the development of atherosclerosis than obesity.