Predictors of Two Obesity Complications: diabetes and hypertension

Gender, age, waist-hip ratio (WHR) and body mass index (BMI) have been reported to herald two complications of obesity: diabetes or hypertension. Most literature is based on patient populations with mean BMIs ranging from 22 to 35 kg/m². This study population of severely obese patients selected for surgical treatment of obesity had a mean age of 37 ± 9.4 years, median WHR of 0.9 (0.4-2.1) and median BMI of 44.0 (29-89) kg/m². It was found that age, WHR and BMI were significant predictors for diabetes or hypertension. Gender was not found to be a significant predictor for either diabetes or hypertension. A mathematical model was used to calculate the predictive probability of developing diabetes or hypertension using age, BMI and WHR.