Original Contribution Nine-Year Changes in Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors with Weight Maintenance in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Cohort

Few studies have focused on the impact of weight maintenance on cardiovascular disease risk factors or addressed whether changes differ by baseline weight status and medication usage. The authors examined these issues using 9 years of follow-up data on 3,235 men and women from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study who were aged 45–64 years at baseline (1987–1989). In participants not using medications, glucose (3.0 mg/dl, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.4, 3.5) and triglycerides (10.1 mg/dl, 95% CI: 8.3, 11.9) increased, while total cholesterol ( 9.6 mg/dl, 95%CI: 10.6, 8.6), low density lipoprotein cholesterol ( 9.9 mg/dl, 95%CI: 10.9, 9.0), and high density lipoprotein cholesterol ( 1.7 mg/dl, 95% CI: 2.1, 1.3) decreased. Systolic blood pressure (7.9 mmHg, 95% CI: 7.3, 8.4) increased, but diastolic blood pressure ( 1.1 mmHg, 95% CI: 1.4, 0.7) declined. Normal weight (body mass index: 18.5–<25.0 kg/m) participants had smaller increases in glucose compared with obese (body mass index: 30.0 kg/m) participants. In contrast, the authors found less favorable changes in total, low density lipoprotein, and high density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and diastolic blood pressure among normal weight compared with obese participants who maintained their weight. These patterns were similar across weight status groups regardless of medication usage.