Early sign of artery damage found

A team from Warwick Medical School found levels of sE-selectin, which points to damage to blood vessels, was linked to a person's weight.

The researchers say their report shows the marker could be used as an early indicator of artery disease.

A leading obesity expert said the study in the International Journal of Obesity could indicate a new avenue of research into who was at risk.

It is important to identify early signs of damage, such as blocked and narrowed arteries, which can precede heart disease or stroke.

Scientists studied 260 healthy men and women from Asian, African and white ethnic backgrounds to look at a range of measures of obesity or fatness such as body mass index (BMI) and waist-hip ratio.

BMI is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by the square of height in metres.

Waist-hip ratio is your waist measurement divided by your hip measurement.

'Opportunities'

The study showed that the levels of sE-selectin, a marker of inflammation produced by artery vessel walls, are strongly associated with measures of obesity, and in particular with the amount of fat around the waist.

Researchers found that every 2% increase in sE-selectin was linked to the increase of one unit in BMI and 0.01 units in waist-hip ratio.

The finding was seen in each ethnic group.

This inflammation can directly trigger thrombosis, heart disease, strokes and diabetes.

Professor Francesco Cappuccio, one of the researchers who worked on the study, said: "This study highlights the importance of the activation of the endothelium, the inner layer of the artery vessel wall, in the metabolic processes leading to obesity and cardiovascular disease.

"This observation opens opportunities to develop new treatments that deal directly with inflammation either through diet or drugs."

He said research had suggested a healthy diet could reduce levels of sE-selectin, and it might be possible that some of the benefits of cholesterol-lowering statins could be due to their effects on levels of the marker.

Professor Steve Bloom, an obesity expert based at Imperial College London, said: "Correlating findings in this way could be very valuable and offer new areas of research.

"And it would be useful to be able to identify people to tell them they are at risk, so they are able to take more exercise and watch their diet - rather than the 'blunderbuss' approach we have at the moment in terms of giving healthy living advice."