title: Waist circumference values equivalent to body mass index points for predicting absolute cardiovascular disease risks among adults in an Aboriginal community: a prospective cohort study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  There have been suggestions that currently recommended waist circumference (WC) cut-off points for Australians of European origin may not be applicable to Aboriginal people who have different body habitus profiles. We aimed to generate equivalent WC values that correspond to body mass index (BMI) points for identifying absolute cardiovascular disease (CVD) risks.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  An Aboriginal community in Australia's Northern Territory.
  
  
  METHODS
  From 1992 to 1998, 920 adults without CVD, with age, WC and BMI measurements were followed-up for up to 20 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Incident CVD, coronary artery disease (CAD) and heart failure (HF) events during the follow-up period ascertained from hospitalisation data. We generated WC values with 10-year absolute risks equivalent for the development of CVD as BMI values (20-34 kg/m(2)) using the Weibull accelerated time-failure model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 211 incident cases of CVD over 13,669 person-years of follow-up. At the average age of 35 years, WC values with absolute CVD, CAD and HF risks equivalent to BMI of 25 kg/m(2) were 91.5, 91.8 and 91.7 cm, respectively, for males, and corresponding WC values were 92.5, 92.7 and 93 cm for females. WC values with equal absolute CVD, CAD and HF risks to BMI of 30 kg/m(2) were 101.7, 103.1 and 102.6 cm, respectively, for males, and corresponding values were 99.2, 101.6 and 101.5 cm for females. Association between WC and CVD did not depend on gender (p=0.54).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  WC ranging from 91 to 93 cm was equivalent to BMI 25 kg/m(2) for overweight, and 99 to 103 cm was equivalent to BMI of 30 kg/m(2) for obesity in terms of predicting 10-year absolute CVD risk. Replicating the absolute risk method in other Aboriginal communities will further validate the WC values generated for future development of WC cut-off points for Aboriginal people.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Chronic Disease, School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Odewumi
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Adegbija
authors.affiliation: Centre for Chronic Disease, School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Wendy E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Hoy
authors.affiliation: Centre for Chronic Disease, School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Zhiqiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012016:Reference Values; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D055105:Waist Circumference; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: EPIDEMIOLOGY; PUBLIC HEALTH