title: Body composition indices and predicted cardiovascular disease risk profile among urban dwellers in Malaysia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aims to compare various body composition indices and their association with a predicted cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk profile in an urban population in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional survey was conducted in metropolitan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2012. Households were selected using a simple random-sampling method, and adult members were invited for medical screening. The Framingham Risk Scoring algorithm was used to predict CVD risk, which was then analyzed in association with body composition measurements, including waist circumference, waist-hip ratio, waist-height ratio, body fat percentage, and body mass index.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Altogether, 882 individuals were included in our analyses. Indices that included waist-related measurements had the strongest association with CVD risk in both genders. After adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic variables, waist-related measurements retained the strongest correlations with predicted CVD risk in males. However, body mass index, waist-height ratio, and waist circumference had the strongest correlation with CVD risk in females.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The waist-related indicators of abdominal obesity are important components of CVD risk profiles. As waist-related parameters can quickly and easily be measured, they should be routinely obtained in primary care settings and population health screens in order to assess future CVD risk profiles and design appropriate interventions.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Population Health (CePH), Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Tin Tin
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Department of Development Studies, Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Mohammadreza
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Amiri
authors.affiliation: Centre for Population Health (CePH), Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Farizah
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mohd Hairi
authors.affiliation: Centre for Population Health (CePH), Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Nithiah
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Thangiah
authors.affiliation: Centre for Population Health (CePH), Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Maznah
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dahlui
authors.affiliation: Centre for Population Health (CePH), Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Hazreen Abdul
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Majid
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001823:Body Composition; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015984:Causality; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*