Association of waist-stature ratio with hypertension and metabolic syndrome: population-based study.
BACKGROUND
Hypertension and metabolic syndrome are cardiovascular risk factors associated with increased adiposity. In a previous study, waist-to-stature ratio (WSR) was identified as the best obesity index associated with left ventricular hypertrophy.


OBJECTIVE
In this study we compared the ability of this index to identify hypertension and metabolic syndrome with other obesity indexes (body mass index--BMI; waist circumference--WC; and waist-to-hip ratio - WHR) by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses.


METHODS
1,655 (45.8% men) participants of the MONICA-WHO/Vitoria Project, mean age 45 ± 11 y were investigated. Metabolic syndrome prevalence (ATP-III criteria) was 32.9%, hypertension was 42.4% and obesity was 19.2%.


RESULTS
Regarding the ability to identify hypertension, there was a significant WSR superiority in relation to BMI and WC (p < 0.05) regardless of gender, but WHR (p > 0.05). In relation to the ability to identify metabolic syndrome, there was a significant WSR superiority in relation to WHR in men (p < 0.001), but BMI and WC (p = 0.16 and p = 0.9), respectively. However, in women WSR was significantly superior in relation to WHR (p < 0.001) and BMI (p = 0.025), but WC (p = 0.8). The optimal WSR cutoffs are 0.52 and 0.53 for hypertension and 0.53 and 0.54 for metabolic syndrome, for men and women, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Abdominal obesity, identified by WSR as a surrogate, and not overall obesity (BMI as surrogate), is the simplest and best applicable obesity index associated to hypertension and metabolic syndrome in our population.
Rodrigues
Sérgio Lamêgo
SL
Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória, ES, Brasil. sergio.lamego@terra.com.br
Baldo
Marcelo Perim
MP
Mill
José Geraldo
JG
D050153:Abdominal Fat / Q000503:physiopathology; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D001827:Body Height / Q000502:physiology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D055105:Waist Circumference / Q000502:physiology*