LONDON, Aug 1 — New UK research has found that being overweight appears to affect the structure and function of the heart even in young adulthood, possibly increasing risk of cardiovascular disease later in life.
Carried out by researchers at the University of Bristol Medical School, the study is the first to investigate whether a higher body mass index (BMI) could have a negative effect on the cardiovascular system in young adults, with previous research finding that BMI can affect cardiovascular health in mid-to-late life.
The researchers gathered data on several thousand healthy 17-year-olds and 21-year-olds who have participated in the ongoing Children of the 90s study, a study carried out by the University of Bristol which has followed thousands of children since their birth in the early 1990s.
After carrying out various analyses, the researchers’ findings suggest that a higher BMI caused higher systolic blood pressure — the top number on the reading — and higher diastolic blood pressure — which is the bottom number on the reading,
It also appeared to cause enlargement of the left ventricle, which is the heart’s main pumping chamber.
“Thickening of vessel walls is widely considered to be the first sign of atherosclerosis, a disease in which fatty plaques build up within the arteries and lead to heart disease. However, our findings suggest that higher BMIs cause changes in the heart structure of the young that may precede changes in blood vessels,” said Kaitlin H. Wade, B.Sc., Ph.D., lead author of the study.
“Our results support efforts to reduce body mass index to within a normal, healthy range from a young age to prevent later heart disease.”
While observational studies can suggest a relationship between risk factors or lifestyle behaviours and heart disease, they cannot prove cause and effect.
However, in the current study the researchers used three different types of genetic analysis, including a technique called Mendelian randomisation. This type of analysis gives more reliable results, therefore if an association is found it is more likely to suggest a direct relationship, providing evidence that it is BMI causing the specific differences in cardiovascular measurements.
“At a population level, this provides a natural experiment analogous to a randomised trial where we can compare differences in an outcome (such as heart structure and function) with differences in BMI, without the relationship being skewed by other lifestyle and behavioural factors,” explained Wade.
The results can be found online in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation. — AFP-Relaxnews
