Waist circumference action levels in the identification of cardiovascular risk factors: prevalence study in a random sample

TLDR

The study aimed to determine how frequently cardiovascular risk factors occur in adults classified by established waist‑circumference action levels. A cross‑sectional prevalence study was conducted on 4,881 randomly selected Dutch adults aged 20–59, measuring waist circumference, waist‑to‑hip ratio, BMI, cholesterol, blood pressure, age, and lifestyle. Waist circumferences above 94 cm in men and 80 cm in women identified BMI ≥ 25 and waist‑to‑hip ratios ≥ 0.95 with ≥96 % sensitivity and specificity, detected at least one risk factor with 57–67 % sensitivity and 62–72 % specificity, and were associated with 2.2–4.6 times higher odds of risk factors, confirming that larger waist circumference signals increased cardiovascular risk.

Abstract

<h3>Abstract</h3> Objective: To determine the frequency of cardiovascular risk factors in people categorised by previously defined “action g126 levels” of waist circumference. Design: Prevalence study in a random population sample. Setting: Netherlands. Subjects: 2183 men and 2698 women aged 20-59 years selected at random from the civil registry of Amsterdam and Maastricht. Main outcome measures: Waist circumference, waist to hip ratio, body mass index (weight (kg)/height (m²)), total plasma cholesterol concentration, high density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration, blood pressure, age, and lifestyle. Results: A waist circumference exceeding 94 cm in men and 80 cm in women correctly identified subjects with body mass index of &gt;/=25 and waist to hip ratios &gt;/=0.95 in men and &gt;/=0.80 in women with a sensitivity and specificity of &gt;/=96%. Men and women with at least one cardiovascular risk factor (total cholesterol &gt;/=6.5 mmol/l, high density lipoprotein cholesterol &lt;/=0.9 mmol/l, systolic blood pressure &gt;/=160 mm Hg, diastolic blood pressure &gt;/=95 mm Hg) were identified with sensitivities of 57% and 67% and specificities of 72% and 62% respectively. Compared with those with waist measurements below action levels, age and lifestyle adjusted odds ratios for having at least one risk factor were 2.2 (95% confidence interval 1.8 to 2.8) in men with a waist measurement of 94-102 cm and 1.6 (1.3 to 2.1) in women with a waist measurement of 80-88 cm. In men and women with larger waist measurements these age and lifestyle adjusted odds ratios were 4.6 (3.5 to 6.0) and 2.6 (2.0 to 3.2) respectively. Conclusions: Larger waist circumference identifies people at increased cardiovascular risks.