The Body Mass Index, Blood Pressure, and Fasting Blood Glucose in Patients With Methamphetamine Dependence

Methamphetamine (MA) is a prevalently abused psychostimulant in the world. Previously published studies and case reports indicated potential associations between MA and body mass index (BMI) and cardiovascular factors (eg, blood pressure and fasting blood glucose). However, these associations have not been studied clearly. This study aimed to investigate BMI and cardiovascular factors in the MA-dependent patients. A total of 1019 MA-dependent patients were recruited between February 2, 2008 and March 11, 2013. A case report was used to gather information on sociocharacteristics and drug-dependent history. Meanwhile, a number of 1019 age- and sex-matched controls' information were collected from the physical examination center. We measured BMI, blood pressure, and fasting blood glucose among the participants. MA-dependent patients had significantly lower BMI (20.40.1 vs 23.9 +/- 0.1kg/m(2), P<0.001), lower fasting blood glucose (5.0 +/- 0.01 vs 5.2 +/- 0.01mmol/L, P<0.001) and higher systolic blood pressure (122.1 +/- 0.4 vs 114.8 +/- 0.4mmHg, P<0.001) compared with the control group after adjustment of possible confounders. Additional, we only found the duration of MA use was independently associated with BMI (B=-0.08, P=0.04). This study demonstrated that MA dependence was associated with BMI and cardiovascular factors. In addition, we found a negative association between duration of MA use and BMI.