OBJECTIVE:

To determine if central adiposity predicts 10-year cardiovascular risk and changes across the female reproductive aging.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

A cross-sectional study was carried out in women recruited from march to august of 2019 in the Research Unit on Gerontology, Facultad de Estudios Superiores Zaragoza, UNAM. Clinically healthy women aged 40 to 69 years old, with diabetes mellitus and/or arterial hypertension, and no other diseases, without hormonal or antioxidant therapy 6 months before the beginning of the study were included. The women were separated into three groups according to the STRAW criteria. The main variables were central obesity with anthropometric measurements and Framingham 10-year cardiovascular disease risk assessment. Statistical analysis included descriptive measures; and as inferential test: Student’s t test, one-way ANOVA, χ2, Pearson’s correlation and odds ratio.

RESULTS:

558 women were recruited: 206 pre-menopausal, 224 early post-menopausal, and 128 late post-menopausal. The prevalence of overweight/obesity was high in the three groups and 10-year cardiovascular disease risk increase with the reproductive aging. When stratified by menopausal status we found a correlation between cardiovascular risk and waist to height index (r = 0.434, p < 0.0001) and waist circumference (r = 0.428, p < 0.0001), being the waist to height index a risk factor to cardiovascular disease (RM = 3.26, IC95%: 1.73-6.12, p < 0.0001), only in premenopausal women, while in postmenopausal women there is no relation.

CONCLUSION:

The central obesity obtained by the waist to height index is a 10-year cardiovascular disease risk factor in premenopausal, but not in postmenopausal women.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )