Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 May;8(5):1626-1629.
doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_168_19.

Study of the effect of obesity on QT-interval among adults

Tarun Kumar  1 , Kamlesh Jha  2 , Ashok Sharan  1 , Pooja Sakshi  1 , Shishir Kumar  3 , Amita Kumari  1
Affiliations

Study of the effect of obesity on QT-interval among adults

Tarun Kumar et al. J Family Med Prim Care. 2019 May.

Abstract

Background: Obesity affects the different organ systems of human body and has been recognized as a risk factor for the development of many diseases. Most of the cardiovascular diseases develop due to obesity which reflects alterations in either cardiac morphology or conduction defects. These abnormalities are reflected in ECG as prolongation of various intervals. Prolongation of QT-interval has been found to be associated with ventricular arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death.

Aims and objectives: The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of obesity on QT-interval to assess the risk of development of cardiovascular diseases in early stage.

Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 80 cases and 80 controls, which included adults of 18-40 years age groups from both sexes. The cases were obese [body mass index (BMI) >30 kg/m2] and the controls were nonobese (BMI < 25 kg/m2). ECG of the cases and controls was recorded and their QT-intervals were calculated and analyzed with BMI by independent samples test.

Results: We found significantly higher QT-intervals in obese group in comparison to that of nonobese group (P = 0.000).

Conclusion: Obesity was found to be associated with prolongation of QT-interval among young obese adults. This prolongation of QT-interval duration increases the possibility of left ventricular enlargement and ventricular fibrillation. Hence the present study helps in creating awareness among obese people so that they can change their lifestyle in order to prevent the onset of the deleterious effects of obesity on their health.

Keywords: Obesity; QT-interval; body mass index; ventricular fibrillation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Hubert HB, Feinleib M, McNamara PM, Castelli WP. Obesity as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease: A 26 year follow-up of participants in the Framingham Heart Study. Circulation. 1983;67:968–77. - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization. Obesity: Preventing and managing the global epidemic. Geneva: WHO; 2004. - PubMed
    1. Neetu CS. India the third most obese country in the world. India Today, New Delhi. 2014
    1. World Health Organization. Obesity and overweight. WHO; 2015.
    1. Fourth National Family Health Survey. Mumbai: International Institute for Population Sciences. 2015-16 - PubMed