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Background: Screening for increased waist circumference and hypertriglyceridemia (the hypertriglyceridemic-waist phenotype) has been proposed as an inexpensive approach to identify patients with excess intra-abdominal adiposity and associated metabolic abnormalities. We examined the relationship between the hypertriglyceridemic-waist phenotype to the risk of coronary artery disease in apparently healthy individuals., Methods: A total of 21,787 participants aged 45-79 years were followed for a mean of 9.8 (standard deviation 1.7) years. Coronary artery disease developed in 2109 of them during follow-up. The hypertriglyceridemic-waist phenotype was defined as a waist circumference of 90 cm or more and a triglyceride level of 2.0 mmol/L or more in men, and a waist circumference of 85 cm or more and a triglyceride level of 1.5 mmol/L or more in women., Results: Compared with participants who had a waist circumference and triglyceride level below the threshold, those with the hypertriglyceridemic-waist phenotype had higher blood pressure indices, higher levels of apolipoprotein B and C-reactive protein, lower levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and apolipoprotein A-I, and smaller low-density lipoprotein particles. Among men, those with the hypertriglyceridemic-waist phenotype had an unadjusted hazard ratio for future coronary artery disease of 2.40 (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.02-2.87) compared with men who did not have the phenotype. Women with the phenotype had an unadjusted hazard ratio of 3.84 (95% CI 3.20-4.62) compared with women who did not have the phenotype., Interpretation: Among participants from a European cohort representative of a contemporary Western population, the hypertriglyceridemic-waist phenotype was associated with a deteriorated cardiometabolic risk profile and an increased risk for coronary artery disease.

Aims: Differences in cardiovascular risk factors across Europe provide an opportunity to examine the impact of adiposity on the frequency of diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD)., Methods and Results: The International Day for Evaluation of Abdominal obesity (IDEA) study evaluated the prevalence of abdominal obesity, elevated body mass index (BMI), and other cardiometabolic risk factors among primary care patients. Abdominal obesity predicted increased diabetes risk, despite socio-economic, demographic, and risk factor differences. Cardiovascular disease was at least two-fold more frequent in Eastern Europe vs. Northwest Europe (P < 0.0001) and 2.5-fold more vs. Southern Europe (P < 0.0001). Waist circumference (WC) predicted increased (P < 0.0001) age- and BMI-adjusted risks of CVD and diabetes. In women, odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for CVD per 1 SD increase in WC were: Northwest Europe 1.28 (1.18-1.40); Southern Europe 1.26 (1.16-1.37); and Eastern Europe 1.10 (1.03-1.18). Values for diabetes were 1.72 (1.58-1.88), 1.45 (1.35-1.56), and 1.59 (1.46-1.73), with similar findings in men., Conclusion: Abdominal obesity impacted similarly on the frequency of diabetes across Europe, despite regional differences in cardiovascular risk factors and CVD rates. Increasing abdominal obesity may offset future declines in CVD, even where CVD rates are lower.