Longitudinal Association between Waist Circumference, Waist-to-Height Ratio and Incidence of Hypertension among Chinese Adults [Abstract]

Longitudinal study examining the association between waist circumference (WC), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), and risk of cardiovascular disease among Asians is lacking. We are the first to determine cutoffs for WC and WHtR to address the increased incidence of hypertension among 18–65-year-old Chinese adults, using data from a China Health and Nutrition Survey 2000–2004 cohort (n = 4492). Cumulative incidence was calculated by dividing new cases of hypertension by the total at-risk population, aged 18–65 years, in 2000. We used sex-specific receiver operating characteristic curves to assess the sensitivity and specificity of the WC and WHtR as predictors of hypertension outcome. Four-year cumulative incidences of hypertension, 13% and 19% for women and men, respectively, were significantly related to increase in WC and WHtR in both crude and age-adjusted models (P for trend < 0.001). Area under the curve for the prediction of hypertension by WC or WHtR was 0.64 in crude and 0.70 in age-adjusted models for both women and men. WC levels of 78 cm and 80 cm, WHtR levels of 0.49 and 0.48 for women and men, respectively were associated with the increased incidence of hypertension. The study shows that WC and WHtR are predictors of hypertension and that the Asian develops non-communicable diseases at a lower WC and WHtR compared to the Westerner. WC of less than 80 cm and WHtR of less than 0.50 should be maintained by Chinese adults.
JOUR
Nguyen, Tuan Thanh
Popkin, Barry M.
2008
The Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
22
461.3
529