Waist-to-thigh ratio and diabetes among US adults: the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
OBJECTIVE
We sought to examine whether waist-to-thigh ratio (WTR) performed better than waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), waist-to-hip ratio (WHpR), waist circumference (WC), or body mass index (BMI) in relation to diabetes among US adults.


METHODS
Data of 6277 men and nonpregnant women 20 years or older from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988-1994) were analyzed.


RESULTS
In men, AUC of WTR (0.83) was larger than that of WHtR (0.78) (P=0.003), WHpR (0.79) (P<0.001), WC (0.76) (P<0.001), and BMI (0.72) (P<0.001) for diabetes. In women, the AUC of WTR (0.80) was similar to that of WHtR (0.80) (P=0.89), WHpR (0.79) (P=0.55), and WC (0.78) (P=0.36), but larger than that of BMI (0.73) (P=0.03) for diabetes. After adjustment for potential confounders, WTR had the strongest association with diabetes in men (OR, 2.13; 95% CI, 1.57-2.88; per 1 SD increment), whereas WHpR had the strongest association with diabetes in women (OR, 1.94; 95% CI, 1.60-2.35).


CONCLUSIONS
WTR performed better than other four indices in men and WTR performed similarly to WHtR, WHpR, and waist circumference, but better than BMI in women for the association with diabetes.
Division of Adult and Community Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA. cli@cdc.gov
Chaoyang
C
Li
Earl S
ES
Ford
Guixiang
G
Zhao
Henry S
HS
Kahn
Ali H
AH
Mokdad
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000886:Anthropometry / Q000379:methods*; D001794:Blood Pressure; D015992:Body Mass Index; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D012372:ROC Curve; D012307:Risk Factors; D013848:Thigh; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055105:Waist Circumference; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio; D055815:Young Adult
D008076:Cholesterol, HDL