Comparison of visceral and body fat indices and anthropometric measures in relation to untreated hypertension by age and gender among Chinese.
BACKGROUND
The aim of the study was to compare the efficiency of bioelectrical indices (percentage body fat, PBF; visceral fat index, VFI) and various anthropometric measures (body mass index, BMI; waist circumference, WC; waist-to-height ratio, WHtR) on determining hypertension in Chinese.


METHODS
We conducted the community-based cross-sectional survey during August of 2013 to August of 2015 in 66 sample sites selected by multistage random sampling method from Henan province. 14,364 residents were included in the study.


RESULTS
In both genders, VFI and PBF tended to rise with age. However, for each age-specific group, men consistently had significantly greater VFI than women (all P<0.0001) and women had considerably higher PBF (all P<0.0001). The odds ratios and area under the ROC curves (AUCs) for hypertension associated with adiposity indices decreased with age. In younger (15~34year) men and women, VFI had the highest crude (2.43-7.95) and adjusted (2.40-11.63) odds ratio for hypertension. The AUCs for PBF, VFI and WHtR were significantly larger than those for BMI and WC (all P<0.01). Whereas no statistically significant difference were found in AUCs among PBF, VFI and WHtR (all P>0.10). Additionally, VFI and PBF yielded the greatest Youden index in identifying hypertension in men (0.27) and women (0.34), respectively. Optimal cutoffs for VFI/PBF were 11.70/24.45 and 7.55/33.65 in men and women, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
VFI and PBF could be better candidates for identifying hypertension in men and women, respectively. Adolescents and young adults should be highlighted in preventing hypertension by control of excess body and visceral fat.
Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China; Key Laboratory of Tumor Epidemiology of Henan Province, Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, China.
Jicheng
J
Jiang
Department of Health Services Policy and Management, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
Songyuan
S
Deng
Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China; Key Laboratory of Tumor Epidemiology of Henan Province, Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, China.
Yi
Y
Chen
The Henan Academy of Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou 40003, China.
Shuying
S
Liang
The Henan Academy of Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou 40003, China.
Nan
N
Ma
Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China; Key Laboratory of Tumor Epidemiology of Henan Province, Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, China.
Yajuan
Y
Xu
Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China; Key Laboratory of Tumor Epidemiology of Henan Province, Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, China.
Xiaolin
X
Chen
Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China; Key Laboratory of Tumor Epidemiology of Henan Province, Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, China.
Xiaoqin
X
Cao
Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China; Key Laboratory of Tumor Epidemiology of Henan Province, Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, China.
Chunhua
C
Song
The Henan Academy of Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou 40003, China.
Wei
W
Nie
Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China; Key Laboratory of Tumor Epidemiology of Henan Province, Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, China. Electronic address: kjwang@163.com.
Kaijuan
K
Wang
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000502:physiology*; D050154:Adiposity / Q000502:physiology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000886:Anthropometry / Q000379:methods*; D044466:Asian People; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D050152:Intra-Abdominal Fat / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011897:Random Allocation; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D055105:Waist Circumference / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
Body mass index; Hypertension; Percentage body fat; Visceral fat index; Waist circumference; Waist-to-height ratio