Korean Journal of Obesity  2015;24(1):36-43

doi:10.7570/kjo.2015.24.1.36

Validation of Waist-to-Height Ratio for Predicting Metabolic Syndrome in Patients with Prediabetes

Ji Min KIM 1 ; Min Kyung BACK ; Sang Hyeon JU ; Min Young SHIN ; Mi Joo KIM ; Yeon Hee PARK ; Kwang In PARK ; Kyong Hye JOUNG ; Hyun Jin KIM ; Bon Jeong KU

Affiliations

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Keywords

Prediabetic state; Metabolic syndrome; Waist-to-height ratio

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

Korean

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Metabolic syndrome is associated with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in patients with prediabetes. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare WHtR (Waist-to-Height Ratio) as a predictor of metabolic syndrome with other anthropometric indices as in Body Mass Index (BMI), Waist Circumference (WC) and Waist to Hip Ratio (WHR) in prediabetes. METHODS: A total of 816 subjects with prediabetes were recruited from a community based Cohort Study. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was performed to find the optimal cutoff value of WHtR. Area under the curve (AUC) was calculated for each anthropometric index and correlation coefficient between WHtR and various dermographic and clinical factors was calculated. RESULTS: WHtR had a significant correlation with metabolic parameters except for fasting glucose and increased with increasing number of risk factors for metabolic syndrome. AUC of WHtR was significantly higher than that of other anthropometric indices. The optimal cutoff value of WHtR was 0.53 for metabolic syndrome in prediabetes. CONCLUSION: WHtR may be the simple and effective anthropometric index for predicting metabolic syndrome in prediabetic patients.