Risk factors for hypertension and diabetes comorbidity in a Korean population: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Hypertension and diabetes are risk factors for severe cardiovascular disease and are prevalent comorbidities. No studies have examined the associations of various risk factors related to anthropometry, bone mineral density and body composition of specific body regions with hypertension and diabetes comorbidity (HDC). This study explored the association between HDC and various risk factors related to specific body regions. METHOD: A total of 7,978 subjects (3,451 men and 4,527 women) aged ≥ 50 years were included in the analysis. A binary logistic regression analysis based on complex sample data analysis was conducted to examine associations between the normal and diabetes groups, between the normal and hypertension groups, and between the normal and HDC groups. RESULTS: Among Korean adults aged ≥ 50 years, 11.27% of men and 10.05% of women had both diabetes and hypertension. The HDC prevalence was higher in men than in women. In men, waist-to-height ratio (WHtR, adjusted OR = 1.63 [1.22–2.18], adjusted p<0.001) exhibited a more significant association with HDC than other indices, left leg fat mass (adjusted OR = 0.61 [0.45–0.81], adjusted p = 0.0009) and right leg fat mass (adjusted OR = 0.60 [0.45–0.81], adjusted p = 0.0007) displayed strong negative associations with diabetes, and left leg lean mass (adjusted OR = 0.77 [0.67–0.89], adjusted p = 0.0002) and trunk fat mass (adjusted OR = 1.28 [1.07–1.52], adjusted p = 0.0062) were significantly associated with hypertension. In women, left leg fat mass (adjusted OR = 0.29 [0.22–0.39], adjusted p<0.0001) and right leg fat mass (adjusted OR = 0.32 [0.23–0.45], adjusted p<0.0001) exhibited strong negative associations with HDC, waist circumference (WC) (adjusted OR = 2.15 [1.40–3.30], adjusted p = 0.0005) showed a stronger association with diabetes than did other indices, and WC (adjusted OR = 1.39 [1.11–1.74], adjusted p = 0.0040) and WHtR (adjusted OR = 1.39 [1.09–1.76], adjusted p = 0.0075) were significantly associated with hypertension. DISCUSSION: HDC was more strongly associated with fat and lean mass than diabetes and hypertension. The association between HDC and body fat variables was more robust in women than in men.