Hypertriglyceridemic waist phenotype and metabolic abnormalities in hypertensive adults: A STROBE compliant study

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the hypertriglyceridemic waist (HTGW) phenotype and metabolic abnormalities in hypertensive adults. A cross-sectional study, with a sample of 5919 hypertensive adults (2892 men and 3027 women) aged 35 years or older, was recruited from rural areas of China. The participants underwent anthropometric measurements and laboratory examinations. The self-reported information was collected by trained personnel. The HTGW phenotype was defined as elevated triglycerides and elevated waist circumference. The logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the associations of interest. Hypertensive adults with the HTGW phenotype had significantly higher prevalences of all cardiometabolic risk factors than those without the HTGW phenotype (P < 0.001). Compared with the normal waist normal triglyceride (NWNT) group, hypertensive adults with the HTGW phenotype had much higher possibilities to have all cardiometabolic risk factors, especially for 8.35 times more likely of having ≥3 cardiometabolic risk factors [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 5.92–11.79], 6.14 times more likely of having low HDL cholesterol (95% CI 4.98–7.58), 5.49 times more likely of having hyperuricemia (95% CI 4.40–6.86), and 4.32 times more likely of having 1 to 2 cardiometabolic risk factors (95% CI 3.68–5.07) (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis indicated that the HTGW phenotype was positively associated with metabolic abnormalities (P < 0.05). This study concluded that the HTGW phenotype was positively associated with metabolic abnormalities in hypertensive adults. The HTGW phenotype showed to be an important tool for monitoring of hypertensive adults with metabolic abnormalities, which is low cost, simple, and useful in clinical practice, especially in primary health care in the rural area of China.