Atherogenic index and relationship with age, gender, and anthropometric measurements among hypertensive patients attending Niger Delta Teaching Hospital

We explored the relationship between age, gender and anthropometric measurements and atherogenic index in hypertensive patients. A cross sectional study was done involving 109 adult hypertensive patients attending the cardiology clinic of Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital. Subjects were recruited consecutively over a three month period. Demographic, clinical data and anthropometric measurements were documented. Fasting lipid profiles were recorded in all cases and this included total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high?density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) and triglycerides (TG). Atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) was calculated as log (TG/HDL-C). The mean body mass index (BMI), AIP and presenting blood pressure (BP) of study participants were all above the normal limits. Subjects in their middle ages tended to have higher BMI, waist to height ratio (WHtR), and waist circumference (WC) but there was no significant difference in AIP across age groups. Females however, were observed to have higher AIP, TC, BMI, WC, WHtR and lower HDL compared to men. Finding that mean BMI and AIP were high in these hypertensive patients is worrisome given their additional cardiovascular disease burden. Routine anthropometric indices may not be reliable surrogates for atherogenicity measured by abnormalities in TC, TG, LDL-C and HDL-C and AIP. Keywords: Atherogenic index, hypertension, anthropometric measurements