Abstract
ABSTRACT
Aims
To explore longitudinal and bidirectional associations between obesity and cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs) using a cross‐lagged panel network (CLPN) framework in three nationally representative Chinese cohorts.
Materials and Methods
We analysed participants aged 45 years and older from CHARLS (2011–2015;
n
= 12 491), CHNS (2004–2015;
n
= 8412) and CFPS (2010–2022;
n
= 22 193). A CLPN model was used to estimate bidirectional longitudinal associations between obesity and CMDs between participant‐specific first and last eligible surveys. CMDs included hypertension (HBP), diabetes (DM), ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and cerebrovascular disease (CVD). Network replicability was assessed across cohorts.
Results
Across cohorts, 3.43%–5.49% of participants transitioned from non‐obese to obese status, while 16.44%–26.03% transitioned from no CMD to CMD status. Three networks showed moderate structural similarity, with 12 directionally concordant obesity‐CMD edges and moderate edge‐weight correlations (
r
= 0.59–0.64; all
p
Conclusions
CMDs are highly interrelated, and obesity plays a central role in bridging CMDs in the longitudinal networks, highlighting its relevance to both individual CMDs and their clustering as cardiometabolic multimorbidity.