Obesity, physical activity and inflammation: Examining the development of ischemic heart disease among Nova Scotians

Abstract

Background: CVD is a major cause of premature death in Nova Scotia, Canada. Objective: To determine the role of inflammation in the relationships between obesity, physical activity and IHD. Methods: Secondary analysis using exposure data from the 1995 Nova Scotia Health Survey, morbidity data from CIHI and mortality data from Statistics Canada. Results: A statistically significant association was found between abdominal obesity and IHD for women; the relationship between physical inactivity and IHD was of borderline statistical significance in men. Inflammatory markers were independently associated IHD for women. Conclusions: Abdominal obesity was a risk factor for IHD for women, whereas physical inactivity was the was the strongest predictor of IHD in men. Inflammation was found to be an independent risk factor for IHD in women but not men. There was no evidence that inflammation plays a mediating role in the obesity-IHD and physical activity-IHD relationships for women and men, respectively.