Body mass index and risk of stroke mortality among a random sample of Japanese adults: 19-year follow-up of NIPPON DATA80.

BACKGROUND

The relationship between body mass index (BMI) and stroke mortality remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to elucidate the relationship between BMI and stroke death in a representative cohort of Japanese men and women.

METHODS

We analyzed a database of 9,526 men and women aged 30 years and older who were randomly selected throughout Japan in 1980. These individuals had no history of stroke and were followed for 19 years. Hazard ratios (HR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) of deaths due to total stroke, cerebral infarction, and intracerebral hemorrhage were examined using Cox's proportional hazards regression models of BMI levels.

RESULTS

A U-shaped association between BMI and cerebral infarction mortality was observed. Participants with the highest BMI category (BMI > or = 30.0) showed a significantly highest HR for cerebral infarction (HR 2.46, 95% CI 1.01-5.99). The excess risk at the lower extreme of the BMI was confined to men. These associations did not change after excluding deaths occurring in the first 2 years of follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

In the Japanese general population, a U-shaped association between BMI and cerebral infarction mortality was found and the excess risk at the lower extreme of the BMI was confined to men.