Overweight and Obesity in a Group of Patients Awaiting Coronary Artery Bypass Graft

Abstract

Obesity is one of the major risk factor of coronary artery disease (CAD). This study assessed the proportion of patients with overweight or obesity in a group of patients with CAD awaiting coronary artery by-pass graft (CABG) and its association with the duration of the disease. This was a cross-sectional study. A group of 32 consecutive males awaiting CABG, between the period of May 2017 to December 2017 at Teaching Hospital, Karapitiya was enrolled in the study. Their height, weight, waist and hip circumferences were measured using standard protocols. Body composition was estimated by Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA). Mean age of the group was 55 (SD+7) years, with a mean body mass index (BMI) of 24.5 (SD+3.4) kgm-2. Mean waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC) and Waist to hip (W/H) ratio were, 86 (SD+7.5) cm, 91.3 (SD+6.4) cm and 0.9 (SD+0.04) respectively. Duration of the disease ranged from 4 to 192 months. No significant relationships were observed between the duration of the disease and the different indexes measured (BMI, WC, HC, W/H, percentage body fat content). Thirteen (40.6 %) were overweight (BMI >25) and 1 (3.13%) was obese (BMI > 30) according to WHO International classification of BMI, while 10 (31.2 %) were overweight (BMI >23) and 13 (40.6 %) were obese (BMI >25), according to the Asian BMI cut-off values. Eleven (34.4 %) had WC > 90cm, 27 (84.4 %) had W/H ratio of > 0.9 and 12(37.5%) showed percentage fat >30%. A considerable proportion of patients awaiting CABG are either obese or overweight despite the life style modifications advised. The prevalence varies according to the index used to define the overweight and obesity.