Correlation of anthropometric indices with common cardiovascular risk factors in an urban adult population of Iran: data from Zanjan Healthy Heart Study

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the anthropometric index that best predicts common cardiovascular risk factors. A total of 2768 individuals (1310 men and 1458 women) aged 21-75 years with full relevant data from the Zanjan Healthy Heart Study (a prospective study in Zanjan and Abhar, two main cities of Zanjan Province, Iran) were recruited. Common cardiovascular risk factors (TG, TC, HDL-c, LDL-c, fast blood sugar, blood pressure), anthropometric indices (BMI, WC, WHR, WHtR) were measured using standard process, and their correlated classification was evaluated by partial correlation and Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Area under curve (AUC) of WHtR was the largest for most (6 of 7) of the common cardiovascular risk factors in both men and women; followed by WC (4 of the 7 including ties) in men, while AUCs of three anthropometric indices (WC, BMI, WHR) were the same with the largest for 1 of 7 risk factors in women. These results show that the high prevalence of lipid profiles, as cardiovascular risk factors, need special attention, intervention and appropriate treatment. Consistence with other reports, WHtR is a better discriminator of cardiovascular risk factors compared with the other three indices (BMI, WC, and WHR). We determined its optimal cut-off point of 0.5 for both genders. However, due to differences in reported cut-off values across different ethnic groups, future research and longitudinal data is needed before reaching an internationally accepted simple and appropriate measure that could be effectively used in the clinical and epidemiological fields.