The Obesity and Heart Failure Epidemics among African Americans: Insights From the Jackson Heart Study

• Published in: Journal of cardiac failure 2016-08, Vol.22 (8), p.589-597
• Main Authors: Krishnamoorthy, Arun, MD, Greiner, Melissa A., MS, Bertoni, Alain G., MD, Eapen, Zubin J., MD, MHS, O'Brien, Emily C., PhD, Curtis, Lesley H., PhD, Hernandez, Adrian F., MD, MHS, Mentz, Robert J., MD
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; African Americans; Aged; Body Mass Index; Cardiovascular; Cause of Death - trends; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Health care disparities; Healthcare Disparities; heart failure; Heart Failure - complications; Heart Failure - ethnology; Heart Failure - therapy; Hospitalization - trends; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; North Carolina - epidemiology; obesity; Obesity, Morbid - complications; Obesity, Morbid - ethnology; Proportional Hazards Models; Prospective Studies; Risk Assessment; Risk Factors; Survival Rate - trends
• ISSN: 1071-9164; 1532-8414
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cardfail.2016.03.004

Highlights • The relationship between obesity and health outcomes such as mortality and heart failure (HF) in African Americans was further explored from the Jackson Heart Study • Increasing body mass index (BMI) was not associated with increased risk for all-cause mortality in African Americans • However, increasing BMI was associated with increasing risk for prevalent HF and HF hospitalization in African Americans • Obesity remains a major public health concern and should be considered as an important risk factor for long-term morbidity in African American populations and a potential target for intervention