Exploring the relationship between residual cholesterol, body mass index, and hypertension risk: a national cohort study
摘要
Recent studies suggest a link between residual cholesterol (RC) and hypertension, but the mechanisms remain unclear. Exploring modifiable factors like RC may contribute to chronic disease management.
MethodsA total of 1,788 individuals aged 45 years or older were selected from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), which was conducted from 2011 to 2020. Participants with a baseline BMI ≥ 24 kg/m² or diagnosis of hypertension in 2013 or earlier were excluded. Here, baseline RC levels were treated as the exposure factor, BMI from the 2013 follow-up as the mediator, and incident hypertension from the 2015–2020 follow-up as the outcome variable. This study examined the effect of RC and BMI on hypertension by focusing on the role of BMI in the underlying mechanisms. Additionally, cross-sectional data from the 2011 CHARLS were included to validate the stability of the mediating relationships.
ResultsAfter a two-year follow-up (2013), 186 participants (10.4%) developed overweight or obesity (BMI ≥ 24 kg/m²). Within a median follow-up of five years (2015–2020), 24% (430 individuals) experienced the onset of hypertension. RC levels rising by 1 mmol/L were tied to a 4% increase in the risk of overweight/obesity (OR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.01–1.08). Similarly, an increase of 1 mmol/L in RC was linked to a 30% increased risk of developing hypertension (HR = 1.3, 95% CI: 1.1–1.55). BMI-2013 was significantly associated with incident hypertension (OR = 1.07, 95% CI: 1.03–1.11). These findings remained stable after adjusting for covariates. BMI-2013 was identified as a key mediator in the connection between RC and hypertension, with an indirect effect of β = 0.008 (95% CI: 0.003–0.01, p = 0.02) and a total effect of β = 0.064 (95% CI: 0.017–0.110, p < 0.001), accounting for 11.8% of the total effect (P = 0.02). Sensitivity analysis of the cross-sectional data suggested that the results were stable.
ConclusionRC may contribute to hypertension development, with BMI potentially acting as a mediator. These findings highlight the importance of metabolic risk control in reducing the burden of chronic diseases.