Anthropometric cut points for identification of cardiometabolic risk factors in an urban Asian Indian population

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the anthropometric cut points for risk of cardiometabolic risk factors in an urban Asian Indian population. The Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiology Study representatively sampled 26001 individuals aged 20 years or older and detailed measures were obtained in every 10th subject: 90.4% (2350/2600). An oral glucose tolerance test was performed in all individuals except self-reported diabetic subjects. Anthropometric measurements such as body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) were obtained and serum lipid estimations were done in all subjects. Sensitivity, specificity, and distance on receiver operating characteristic curve were used to determine the optimal cut points for BMI and WC with cardiometabolic risk factors. Maximum sensitivity and specificity of BMI for all cardiometabolic risk factors such as diabetes mellitus, prediabetes, hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia, and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ranged from 22.7 to 23.2 kg/m² for men and 22.7 to 23.8 kg/m² for women, and that of WC ranged from 86 to 88.2 cm for men and 81 to 83.8 cm for women. The optimal BMI cut point for identifying any 2 cardiometabolic risk factors was 23 kg/m² in both sexes, whereas that of WC was 87 cm for men and 82 cm for women. The study validates the World Health Organization Asia Pacific guidelines of BMI of 23 kg/m² for the designation of overweight; WC of 87 cm for men and 82 cm for women appear to be appropriate cut points to identify cardiometabolic risk factors including prediabetes in urban Asian Indians.