The Impact of Obesity and Gender on Physiological Response and Lipid Profile in Hypertensive Patients: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Obesity and being overweight, as defined by body mass index (BMI), lead to a cascade of harmful physiological responses in the body and a wide range of systemic diseases. This study focuses on examining the effect of obesity and gender on physiological responses and changes in blood lipids by comparing healthy individuals with a BMI of less than 25 Kg/m² and hypertensive patients with a BMI greater than 30 Kg/m². The aim is to reveal the nature of the interaction among BMI, gender, and cardiovascular health indicators. A comparative analysis was carried out in 4 separate groups (n = 6 per group), classified as follows: Healthy control groups (C1 and C2), consisting of men and women (BMI < 25 kg/m²); and hypertensive patient groups (H1 and H2), consisting of men and women (BMI > 30 kg/m²).The assessment included measurement of BMI, blood pressure (systolic and diastolic in mmHg), and a comprehensive lipid profile analysis, including Total Cholesterol, TG, HDL, LDL, and VLDL (mg/dL). Physiological Response and Body Indices; Statistical analysis revealed statistically significant differences (P < 0.05) in BMI and blood pressure when comparing the obese and hypertensive patient groups with the control (healthy) groups. The hypertensive men's group (H2) had the highest mean BMI (34.04 ± 1.80), while the hypertensive groups (H1 and H2) showed significantly higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure measurements compared to their healthy counterparts. Accompanied by significant changes in lipid levels, the results showed differences in lipid distribution between obese and hypertensive individuals compared to the control groups. A significant decrease in HDL cholesterol levels was observed in the hypertensive men's group (H2), with a mean of 29.88 ± 2.83 mg/dL. Regarding the effect of sex, when analyzing the differences between the sexes within the healthy control groups, the differences in physiological indicators and lipid levels were found to be minor and not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Although the mean blood pressure readings in the women with hypertension (H1) were slightly higher than in the men in the group (H2), this difference did not reach statistical significance, indicating a similarity in the pathological effect between the sexes in the study sample. The conclusion of the current study revealed that morbid obesity (BMI above 30 kg/m²) is the primary factor that detects the body physiology imbalance and impaired fat distribution, and then leads to hypertension directly. While the sex factor was a limited and independent physiological variable. But the overweight or high BMI related to men was associated with lipid deterioration levels, especially when HDL is lower.