Significant relationship between visceral adipose tissue and hypertension among women but not among men
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The aim of this cross-sectional epidemiologic study was to assess the relationship between visceral adipose tissue (VAT), independent of overall adiposity, and prevalent hypertension among African-American and Hispanic-American families participating in the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis (IRAS) Family study. The main study outcome measure was prevalent hypertension as defined by standardized protocols. A total of 1582 subjects were included in adjusted marginal models. One in five participants presented with prevalent hypertension. Owing to a significant VAT interaction with gender, separate analyses for VAT according to gender were performed. In women, VAT was significantly associated with hypertension, independent of BMI. This relationship was not associated with insulin resistance. Compared to Hispanic-American women, African-American women demonstrated increased odds of prevalent hypertension. In men, VAT was not associated with hypertension independent of BMI, BMI explaining a significant amount of the variation in hypertension. In conclusion, a significant relationship between VAT and hypertension was observed among women, while no such interaction was observed among men.
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