High waist-hip-ratio predictor of cardiovascular disease and associated with low IQ in adolescence
TUESDAY, Nov. 15 (HealthDay News) -- IQ values in late adolescence are inversely correlated with waist-hip-ratio (WHR) in early middle-aged men, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2011, held from Nov. 12 to 16 in Orlando, Fla.
Andreas Rosenblad, Ph.D., and Jerzy Leppert, M.D., Ph.D., from the Center for Clinical Res Västerås in Sweden, examined the association between IQ in late adolescence and WHR in early middle age. A cohort of 5,380 40-year-old men, who had taken an IQ test at age 18 between 1990 and 1999, participated in a survey which measured variables including waist and hip circumference. Analysis of variance and linear regression were used to measure the association between WHR and IQ. Linear regression was calculated after adjusting for body mass index, age and blood pressure at conscription examination, county of birth, mother's age at birth, and time from conscription examination to health survey.
The investigators found that WHR differed significantly between the IQ levels. WHR was found to have an inverse association with IQ; men with the highest IQ (more than 126) had the lowest mean WHR (mean, 0.88; standard deviation 0.06), and men with the lowest IQ (less than 74) had the highest mean WHR (mean, 0.91; standard deviation, 0.06). After adjusting for confounding factors, the results remained robust.
"Waist-hip-ratio, a well known risk factor for cardiovascular disease, was, among men, inversely correlated with intelligence in late adolescence, which motivates more focus on this group in the future," the authors write.
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