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Comparative Study
. 2021 Mar 22;20(1):68.
doi: 10.1186/s12933-021-01256-z.

The prediction of Metabolic Syndrome alterations is improved by combining waist circumference and handgrip strength measurements compared to either alone

Jose P Lopez-Lopez  1   2 , Daniel D Cohen  2 , Daniela Ney-Salazar  1 , Daniel Martinez  2 , Johanna Otero  2 , Diego Gomez-Arbelaez  2 , Paul A Camacho  1 , Gregorio Sanchez-Vallejo  3 , Edgar Arcos  4 , Claudia Narvaez  5 , Henry Garcia  6 , Maritza Perez  7 , Dora I Molina  8 , Carlos Cure  9 , Aristides Sotomayor  10 , Álvaro Rico  11 , Eric Hernandez-Triana  12 , Myriam Duran  2 , Fresia Cotes  13 , Darryl P Leong  14 , Sumathy Rangarajan  14 , Salim Yusuf  14 , Patricio Lopez-Jaramillo  15   16
Affiliations
Comparative Study

The prediction of Metabolic Syndrome alterations is improved by combining waist circumference and handgrip strength measurements compared to either alone

Jose P Lopez-Lopez et al. Cardiovasc Diabetol. .

Abstract

Background: Adiposity is a major component of the metabolic syndrome (MetS), low muscle strength has also been identified as a risk factor for MetS and for cardiovascular disease. We describe the prevalence of MetS and evaluate the relationship between muscle strength, anthropometric measures of adiposity, and associations with the cluster of the components of MetS, in a middle-income country.

Methods: MetS was defined by the International Diabetes Federation criteria. To assess the association between anthropometric variables (waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (W/H), body mass index (BMI)), strength (handgrip/kg bodyweight (HGS/BW)) and the cluster of MetS, we created a MetS score. For each alteration (high triglycerides, low HDLc, dysglycemia, or high blood pressure) one point was conferred. To evaluate the association an index of fat:muscle and MetS score, participants were divided into 9 groups based on combinations of sex-specific tertiles of WC and HGS/BW.

Results: The overall prevalence of MetS in the 5,026 participants (64% women; mean age 51.2 years) was 42%. Lower HGS/BW, and higher WC, BMI, and W/H were associated with a higher MetS score. Amongst the 9 HGS/BW:WC groups, participants in the lowest tertile of HGS/BW and the highest tertile of WC had a higher MetS score (OR = 4.69 in women and OR = 8.25 in men;p < 0.01) compared to those in the highest tertile of HGS/BW and in the lowest tertile of WC.

Conclusion: WC was the principal risk factor for a high MetS score and an inverse association between HGS/BW and MetS score was found. Combining these anthropometric measures improved the prediction of metabolic alterations over either alone.

Keywords: Abdominal obesity; Body mass index; Cardiovascular disease; Handgrip strength; Metabolic syndrome.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no competing interests to declare.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Percentage of females and males (CI 95%) in each metabolic score category. *p-value = Chi-square test within sex categories. ** p-value = Chi-square test for the association of score and test
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
a Association between waist circumference and handgrip strength/bodyweight and the risk of higher MetS score in females. *Odds ratio obtained from main effects proportional odds model using waist circumference, handgrip strength /bodyweight and age associated with metabolic score. The reference categories are WC tertile 1 and HGS/BW tertile 3. b Association between waist circumference and handgrip strength/bodyweight and the risk of higher MetS score in males. *Odds ratio obtained from main effects proportional odds model using waist circumference, handgrip strength/bodyweight and age associated with metabolic score. The reference categories are WC tertile 1 and HGS/BW tertile 3
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