Epidemiology and Health

Original Article

Impact of body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio on mortality in middle-aged Koreans: a prospective cohort study based on a Health Examinees study: Sooyoung Cho, Aesun Shin, Ji-Yeob Choi, Jong-Koo Lee, Daehee Kang; Epidemiol Health. 2024;46:e2024073. Published online September 2, 2024; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4178/epih.e2024073

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Abstract Summary PDF: Abstract
OBJECTIVES
We aimed to assess the impact of obesity on mortality in middle-aged Koreans using data from a Health Examinees study.
METHODS
We used data from the participants who had complete information on body size and gave informed consent for the linkage of their data with the national death certificate data. Cox proportional hazard model was used to estimate the hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) for all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality.
RESULTS
A total of 115,961 participants were included in the study. The results showed a U-shaped association between BMI and mortality, indicating that both males and females with BMIs of less than 21.0 kg/m2 and greater than or equal to 30.0 kg/m2 are at increased risk. The results showed that males with a BMI of less than 18.5 kg/m² had a significantly higher risk of all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 2.24; 95% CI, 1.73 to 2.91) and cardiovascular mortality (aHR, 2.27; 95% CI, 1.23 to 4.20). Similarly, males with a WHR of less than 0.80 (aHR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.08 to 1.77), 0.90 to less than 0.95 (aHR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.29), and greater than or equal to 0.95 (aHR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.11 to 1.47) showed an increased risk of all-cause mortality. In females, a BMI of less than 18.0 kg/m2 was linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular mortality (aHR, 2.67; 95% CI, 1.13 to 6.33).
CONCLUSIONS
Being underweight was associated with an increased risk of mortality in both sexes, and the lowest risk of death was found in males who were slightly overweight with a BMI of 23.0-25.0 kg/m2.; Summary

Korean summary
중년 한국인으로 구성된 코호트 연구에서 BMI와 WHR이 원인별 사망에 미치는 영향을 평가함. BMI와 WHR이 사망 원인별 사망률과 U자형 연관성을 보였고, 특히 심혈관 질환에서 이러한 경향을 관찰함.

Key Message
This study examined the association between BMI, WHR, and cause-specific mortality in middle-aged Koreans. Both BMI and WHR showed U-shaped associations with mortality, particularly for cardiovascular outcomes. These findings may indicate a need to carefully consider the optimal BMI cut-off values for Asians to better capture mortality risks.

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