Measures of Adiposity in the Identification of Metabolic Abnormalities in Middle-aged and Older Korean Adults

Abstract

Objectives: We investigated anthropometric measures of obesity, including body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) in their associations with metabolic abnormalities in Korean adults. Methods: Study participants were 1,399 male and 2,325 female community dwellers aged 40-79 years. Assessed metabolic variables included blood pressure, fasting glucose, insulin resistance, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, alanine aminotransferase, and gamma-glutamyl transferase. Associations of anthropometric measures per 1-SD increase with each metabolic abnormality were assessed using logistic regression analysis. Results: The adiposity measurements were significantly associated with all of the metabolic abnormalities, only except for with LDL cholesterol in men. In men, hypertension was more strongly associated withBMI (OR=1.58) than WC (OR=1.40) or WHtR (OR=1.44) or WHtR (OR=1.75); and hypertriglyceridemia was more closely associated with WC (OR=1.91) than BMI (OR=1.79) or WHtR (OR=1.87). In women, three adiposity measurements had similar association with metabolic abnormalities. Conclusions: Simple anthropometric measurements can be used to screen high-risk individuals of metabolic abnormalities in Korean men and women, although certain obesity indicators are more strongly with a specific kind of metabolic abnormality in men. Keywords: Metabolic abnormalities, Anthropometric measures, Body mass index, Waist circumference, Waist-to-height ratio