Original articles   

International Angiology 2006 September;25(3):297-303

Copyright © 2006 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Is obesity an aggravating factor in chronic venous disease? Results of a French epidemiological study in male patients

Benigni J. P. ¹, Cazaubon M. ², Tourneroche A. ³, Achhammer I. ⁴, Mathieu M. ⁴

¹ Unit of Cardiovascular Pathology, Begin Hospital, Saint Mandé, France 2 Paris American Hospital, Neuilly, France 3 Thériamis, Saint Maur des Fossés, France 4 Innothéra Laboratories, Arcueil, France

Aim. In a recent epidemiological study on chronic venous disease (CVD) in French male patients, a correlation was found between obesity and disease severity. The objective of this study was to further analyze the relationship between age and/or obesity, and CVD severity as assessed by the CEAP C-class.
Methods. Each physician taking part in this cross-sectional study included the first 3 adult male patients consulting for the first time and presenting at least one sign and one symptom of CVD. Patients’ socio-demographic and clinical data were collected, and findings for obese (body mass index BMI: >30 kg/m2), overweight (25 Results. A total of 192 physicians included 494 male adult patients (49.3±13.7 years). Among these 494 patients, 37 (7.5%) were obese, 196 (39.7%) overweight, and 256 (51.8%) non-obese. While univariate analyses pointed to more severe CVD in obese patients, multivariate analyses failed to disclose any BMI effect on CVD severity (polytomic logistic regression: P=0.1826). The differences observed between obese, overweight, and non-obese patients were age-linked (P<0.0001): obese patients were older (55.3±14 years) than the other patients, and CVD was more severe with age (16.9%, 26.7%, 26.6%, and 39.6% of patients aged 18-40, 41-50, 51-60, and >60 years experienced trophic disorders, i.e., CEAP classes C4, C5, and C6).
Conclusion. This study does not show any relationship between the CEAP C-class and obesity in male patients. Obesity was thus probably not an aggravating factor in CVD but a simple reflection of ageing.