Authors : Astha , Astha , Bindu Krishnan, Bindu Krishnan, N B Kulkarni, N B Kulkarni
DOI : 10.18231/j.pjms.2020.021
Volume : 10
Issue : 2
Year : 2020
Page No : 83-89
Background: In recent times, obesity has acquired an epidemic status world over and in India. The
association of obesity with vulnerability to cardiovascular ailments and peripheral vascular disease
are well defined. The present study was designed to correlate between chosen obesity indices with
electrocardiographic variables, Ankle brachial index(ABI) and systolic and diastolic blood pressure in
asymptomatic young adults.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study performed on 100 subjects, with equal number of male
and female participants. Blood pressure, Electrocardiogram, pulse rate were recorded in the participants
after resting for ten minutes. Waist circumference, hip circumference, height and weight were measured
using standard protocols defined by WHO. Student’s t test, ANOVA test and Pearsons correlation test were
used to find the significance.
Results: Among the randomly selected 100 subjects, 46% of male and female subjects were in the
obese category (Body Mass Index >25.0). Almost 38% of male and 60% of female subjects had a Waist
circumference more than the cut-off value. 28% of male and 88% of female subjects were found to have
a Conicity Index (CI) more than the cut-off value. Leftward shift of the mean QRS axis correlated
significantly with increasing obesity indices in both sexes. A persistent increase in systolic and diastolic
blood pressure was observed among obese individuals. Results in male subject show that CI correlated
with QTc interval (r=0.71; p=0.001) and diastolic blood pressure (r=0.32; p=0.02). Results among female
subjects show that BMI correlated significantly with systolic(r=0.34; p=0.01) and diastolic blood pressure
(r=0.35;p=0.01), WC positively correlated with systolic blood pressure(r=0.32; p=0.02) and there was a
significant negative correlation between WC and ABI (r= -0.42; p=0.002) and CI correlated negatively with
ABI (r= -0.36; p=0.01).
Conclusion: Abdominal obesity is increasingly prevalent among young adults. The measurement of anklebrachial
index by using oscillometric blood pressure instrument can be used in primary health centers and
relatively unequipped clinics for provisional diagnosis of Peripheral arterial disorder and related disorders.
Keywords: Obesity, Ankle brachial index, Conicity index, QTc interval, Waist circumference, BMI.