Familial Clustering of Central Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors

The risk of obesity among children increases in proportion to parental obesity. This study aimed at investigating the familial clustering of central obesity and cardiovascular disease risk factors.

In this observational cross-sectional survey, enrolling 787 mother-daughter pairs in three age stratum (3-9 y, 10-15 y, 16-20 y), familial associations for central obesity and cardiovascular disease risk factors were assessed.

Mothers with central obesity had higher probability of having daughters with central obesity compared to normal mothers (p=0.0001). Central obesity indices among daughters were positively correlated with those of their mothers (r=0.39, r=0.42 and r=0.46 for waist circumferences in the three age strata, respectively). The correlations were significant and positive between central obesity indices and systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL-C in mothers (r=0.34, 0.30, 0.28, 0.19, 0.32 and 0.13 respectively) and their daughters (r=0.33, 0.27, 0.17, 0.16, 0.26 and 0.20). Correlation between central obesity indices and HDL-C were negative and significant in mothers (r=-0.18) and daughters (r=-0.21). There was an increase with age in mother-daughter central obesity correlations. After subjects’ cardiovascular risk factor levels were adjusted for mother and daughter waist circumferences, the mother-daughter correlations remained significant.

The close association of central obesity indices between mothers and daughters may indicate the key role of the mother for the primary prevention of obesity and its complications, particularly in high-risk families.