Obesity-induced impairment of endothelium-dependent vasodilation in Tunisian women

• Published in: International Journal of Obesity 2010-02, Vol.34 (2), p.273-279
• Main Authors: Miâdi-Messaoud, H, Chouchane, A, Abderrazek, E, Debbabi, H, Zaouali-Ajina, M, Tabka, Z, Ben-Jebria, A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: acetylcholine; Acetylcholine - pharmacology; Adult; Biological and medical sciences; blood flow; Blood vessels; Body Mass Index; Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases - physiopathology; Cardiovascular system; Compliance - drug effects; Compliance - physiology; Complications and side effects; Diabetes; Dilatation; Endothelium; Endothelium, Vascular - drug effects; Endothelium, Vascular - physiopathology; Epidemiology; Female; Flowmeters; Forearm - blood supply; forearm skin blood flow; Health care; Health Promotion and Disease Prevention; Hormone replacement therapy; Humans; Hypertension; Insulin; Internal Medicine; Investigations; Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects); Iontophoresis; laser Doppler flowmetry; Lasers; Medical sciences; Medical screening; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metabolic Diseases; Nitric oxide; Nitric Oxide - metabolism; Obesity; Obesity - complications; Obesity - physiopathology; original-article; Overweight; Overweight - physiopathology; Physiological aspects; Public Health; Regional Blood Flow - drug effects; Regional Blood Flow - physiology; Regression analysis; Risk factors; Skin; Trends; Tunisia; Ultrasonic investigative techniques; Vasodilator Agents - pharmacology; women; Womens health
• ISSN: 0307-0565; 1476-5497
• DOI: 10.1038/ijo.2009.231

Objective: It is now well recognized that obesity is a major public health concern, and its prevalence has tremendously increased worldwide over the last decades, including Tunisia. As obesity is associated with cardiovascular diseases, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of obesity on forearm skin blood flow (FSBF) response to acetylcholine (Ach), an endothelium-dependent vasodilator, in Tunisian women over a wide range of body mass indices (BMIs). Subjects: One hundred and eighty healthy women with an average age of 34 +/- 6 years, an average height of 162 +/- 7 cm and an average weight of 78 +/- 19 kg participated in this investigation. The mean BMIs of the 60 lean, 50 overweight and 70 obese subjects were 22.1 +/- 0.3, 27.7 +/- 0.2 and 38.4 +/- 0.7 kg m-2, respectively. Measurements: The FSBF was measured non-invasively using a laser Doppler flowmeter in response to local infusion of a cumulative dose of Ach. Results: After adjusting for age, the mean response of FSBF to Ach was significantly greater in lean (1168% +/- 78) than in overweight (643% +/- 38) and obese subjects (323% +/- 18) (P=0.002; P