The Study
Waist–hip ratio and 1-year clinical outcome in patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarctions
This study looked at people who had heart attacks and noticed that those with bigger waists compared to their hips tended to have more heart problems a year later. But it didn’t change anything or control for other factors — it just watched what happened, so we can’t say the big waist caused the problems.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
This study looked at heart attack patients who had a procedure to open blocked arteries and checked if having more fat around the waist (vs. hips) affected their heart health a year later.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 538 / 100
Quality score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — a 6.4 percentage point increase in serious heart events between the lowest and highest fat distribution groups is clinically meaningful, especially for women.
- 2Patients with the highest waist-to-hip ratio had 19.4% chance of serious heart problems in a year, compared to 13% for those with the lowest ratio.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Coronary Artery Disease
Year
2016
Authors
H. Lee, T. Hong, J. Hong, J. Choi, Bo Won Kim, Jinhee Ahn, J. Park, Jun-Hyok Oh, J. Choi, H. Lee, K. Cha
Related Content
Claims (4)
People with a higher waist-to-hip ratio have a higher rate of metabolic and cardiovascular disease.
Among patients who have had a non-ST-elevation heart attack and received a stent, those with a higher waist-to-hip ratio have higher rates of serious heart problems within one year, with rates rising from 13% to 19.4% across increasing levels of waist-to-hip ratio.
Among patients with a specific type of heart attack who undergo a common heart procedure, those with a higher waist-to-hip ratio have more major heart problems afterward, and this pattern is strongest in women.
Among patients having a specific type of heart attack and undergoing a heart procedure, those with a higher waist-to-hip ratio have higher rates of high blood pressure and diabetes, and show more abnormal metabolic markers in blood tests.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.