Blood pressure and cholesterol gaps shrink among older adults with obesity

Prof. Majid Ezzati, Author, School of Public Health, Imperial College LondonOur study suggests that, in high-income countries, taking medication to lower blood pressure and cholesterol has helped middle-age and older adults lower their cardiovascular risk to levels that are similar to people with normal BMI.

At a time that weight-loss medications are becoming more widely used, our results give a picture of the cardiovascular health of people likely to be prescribed them, which allows the healthcare system to understand how blood pressure and cholesterol treatments benefit the population alongside weight-loss medications."

Converging cardiovascular risk markers

The study finds that in the 1990s adults with obesity generally had higher blood pressure and high-density lipoprotein (non-HDL) cholesterol levels than people with a normal BMI.

Since 1990, in the majority of the seven countries studied including England and the USA, blood pressure and unhealthy cholesterol fell more steeply among middle-aged and older adults (40–79 years old) with obesity and overweight than among those with normal BMI, narrowing the gap over time. The exceptions were Taiwan and Thailand, which did not see this convergence as universally as other countries.

The findings were most striking in older adults (60–79 years old). In England and the USA, older adults with obesity, and especially with severe obesity, had similar or even lower blood pressure and unhealthy cholesterol levels at the end of the study period than older adults with normal BMI.

Heart medication likely driving the convergence

Cardiovascular risks remain for younger adults with obesity

Source:

The Lancet

Journal reference: