ASSOCIATION BETWEEN ECG VARIABLES AND BODY MASS INDEX: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

BACKGROUND BMI is a surrogate marker for body fat, which does not directly estimate adiposity but affects ECG variables and can be used as a novel measure in clinical practice to predict and assess cardiovascular morbidities. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The study was done to correlate ECG variables like P-R interval, QRS duration and R-R interval with various ranges of BMI. MATERIALS AND METHODS Hundred healthy adult volunteers participated in this study. Their anthropometric data were recorded and BMI was calculated manually. Subsequently, the subjects were categorized into two BMI categories, those having BMI<25 (Category A) and those having BMI >= 25 (Category B). Blood pressure and Lead II ECG variables like P-R interval, R-R interval and QRS duration were recorded. RESULTS The results showed that BMI of category B demonstrated statistically significant longer PR intervals and wider QRS durations. R-R interval though decreased with an increase in BMI, but was not statistically significant. (p>0.05). CONCLUSION ECG variables like P-R interval and QRS duration were positively correlated with BMI. Longer P-R interval and wider QRS duration were observed with higher BMI category.