Relationship of Body Mass Index with Lipid Profile among Teaching Staff at the Higher Institute of Health Sciences, Sana'a

Abstract

Background: Obesity is a global disease; however there is a few documents about obesity, while there is no published data about the association of body mass index (BMI) with lipid profile among Yemeni people. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the association of BMI with lipid profile among teaching staff in the Higher Institute of Health Sciences, Sana'a city, Yemen. Methods: Cross-sectional study was conducted in the Higher Institute of Health Sciences, Sana'a, 103 teaching staff aged 21-59 years (49 men and 54 women) were recruited in this study. The weight, height, waist and blood pressure of subjects were measured and BMI was calculated. The plasma lipid profile; Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc), total cholesterol (TC) and triglycerides (TG) were measured. Informed consent was obtained from each subject. Results: The BMI was positively correlated with TG, waist, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (P = 0.025; <0.001; 0.002; 0.002, respectively). This association was pronounced among women subjects than men particularly, the systolic and diastolic blood pressure (P= 0.012 and 0.008, respectively). The mean of waist, systolic and diastolic blood pressure of overweight, and obese subjects were higher than normal, (P = <0.001; 0.006; 0.009, respectively). Conclusion: BMI was positively correlated with cardiovascular risk factors; TG, waist, and blood pressure, thus overweight and obese are more susceptible to cardiovascular diseases than normal BMI subjects.