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We know from previous evidence that obesity generally increases the risk of cardiovascular disease such as heart attacks and stroke. Over the last few decades medications for some cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure and cholesterol have been widely prescribed, especially in older people.
Does the cardiovascular health risk of obesity still exist to the same extent given the widespread use of cholesterol- and blood pressure-lowering drugs?
Scientists have carried out an observational study to explore this question. The study was published in The Lancet.
The study looked at data on blood pressure and cholesterol in people with obesity, overweight, and normal BMI from 110 health datasets including almost one million participants from 1990 to 2024 in seven high-income countries: England, the USA, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Finland.
Journalists dialled in to this briefing to hear from authors about their study and to discuss e.g.:
– what are levels of cholesterol and blood pressure in people with obesity compared to those with a normal BMI?
– what about levels in obesity versus overweight?
– is there a difference in younger versus older people?
– has this changed over the time medicines like blood pressure medicines and statins have been available?
– what does this mean for people with obesity today and for obesity drugs – are there any implications?
Speakers included:
Prof Majid Ezzati, Professor of Global Environmental Health, Imperial College London
Prof Edward Gregg, Head of the RCSI School of Population Health, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences; and Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Imperial College London
Dr Francesco Zaccardi, Honorary Consultant in Cardiometabolic Medicine and Associate Professor in Clinical Epidemiology and Health Data Science, University of Leicester
Prof Paul Franks, Professor of Genetic Epidemiology and Head of the Genetic & Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Lund University; and Chair in Translational Precision Medicine, Precision Healthcare University Research Institute, QMUL
This Briefing was accompanied by an SMC Roundup of comments.