Background: Our purpose was to examine the relationship of overweight and obesity with cardiovascular disorders.
Patients and method: Data from the 1993 Spanish National Health Survey (16,692 subjects with a body mass index [BMI] >= 18.5 kg/m2).
Results: After adjustment for age, residence city size and tobacco consumption, we observed a positive dose-response relationship (p linear trend < 0.05) of BMI >= 18.5 kg/m2 with hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and diabetes in both sexes, as well as with heart diseases in women. These associations decreased with age.
Conclusions: Overweight and obesity are associated with a greater frequency of cardiovascular disorders in Spain.