Correlations of neck circumference with body composition and cardiometabolic risk factors in Arab women

Abstract

Background: Neck circumference (NC) is a relatively unused index of upper body adiposity. The present study aims to analyze the associations of NC with anthropometric measures of obesity, as well as cardiovascular and metabolic risks in Arab women.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 623 women (aged 18-70 years) recruited from different primary care centers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. NC, waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, and metabolic and serological markers were measured in all participants. Covariance and regression analyses were used to evaluate the associations between NC and cardiometabolic risk factors.

Results: The correlation coefficients of NC and WC with the clinical indices were highly significant (p < 0.01). Overall, the NC was positively correlated with all cardiometabolic markers except total cholesterol and LDLc (p < 0.001). Interestingly, NC was associated with cardiometabolic risk factors independent of other anthropometric indices.

Conclusion: NC is significantly and independently associated with cardiometabolic risk factors in Arab women.

Level of evidence: V, cross-sectional descriptive study.

Keywords: Adiposity; Metabolic risk; Neck circumference; Saudis.