Relationship between anthropometric measures and left ventricular hypertrophy in obese hypertensive patients

Objective: To verify the relationship between anthropometric measures and left ventricular hypertrophy, as assessed by the Cornell Index, in obese hypertensive patients. Methods: Cross-sectional study with obese hypertensive patients of both genders, aged ≥ 20 years, treated as outpatients between 1996 and 2011 at the Hypertension Clinic of the Hospital das Clínicas of the Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil. Data collected included age, blood pressure, heart rate, and anthropometric parameters: body mass index, waist/height ratio, waist/hip ratio, and abdominal circumference. Left ventricular hypertrophy was evaluated by the Cornell voltage criteria through an electrocardiogram. Results: The study included 486 individuals with a median age of 60 (IQ = 53-69) years and a predominance of women (83.5%). The median body mass index was 32.5 (30.9-34.8) kg/m², being similar between genders (p = 0.0745). Body mass index, abdominal circumference, waist/hip ratio (WHR), and waist/height ratio (WHtR) measures did not differ between patients with and without left ventricular hypertrophy (p > 0.05). The Cornell Index correlated with age (r = 0.1217; p = 0.0072), systolic blood pressure (r = 0.6838; p < 0.001), diastolic blood pressure (r = 0.6383; p< 0.001), and waist/hip ratio (r = 0.1193; p = 0.0083). Conclusions: Waist/hip ratio was the anthropometric measure that correlated with the Cornell Index, as did age and blood pressure levels in obese hypertensive individuals. Measures traditionally used to indicate overall (body mass index) and central (abdominal circumference, waist/height ratio) obesity did not correlate with left ventricular hypertrophy.