Association of the degree of adiposity and duration of obesity with measures of cardiac structure and function: The CARDIA study

Objective Examine whether there are independent influences of a greater degree of adiposity and longer duration of obesity on cardiac structure and function. Methods Participants of CARDIA were 18‐30 years when they underwent a baseline examination in 1985‐86. Seven follow‐up examinations were conducted every 2‐5 years. Results Among 2,547 participants who underwent an echocardiogram at the year 25 examination and were not obese at baseline, 34.4 and 35.5% were overall (BMI ≥ 30 kg m−2) and abdominally obese (waist circumference: men: >102 cm; women: >88 cm) at year 25, respectively. A greater degree of overall and abdominal adiposity at year 25 were each associated with a greater left ventricular (LV) mass (P