RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: We performed a study of the relationship between thigh circumference and serum lipids. METHODS: A total of 314,842 Korean men and women aged 30 to 79 enrolled in the Korea Medical Institute for medical examination between February 2010 and December 2011 were included. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association of thigh circumference with various lipid profiles after adjustment for age, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, smoking, and exercise. RESULTS: The average age of study participants was 42.3 years (42.6 years in men and 41.9 years in women). The mean thigh circumference was 53.2 cm (54.3 cm in men and 51.5 cm in women). Thigh circumference was positively correlated with BMI and waist circumference in both men and women. Before adjusting for BMI and waist circumference, thigh circumference was also positively correlated with total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol, and triglyceride / HDL cholesterol ratio. However, after adjusting for those two variables, the positive correlations became almost disappeared and showed opposite direction indicating that BMI and waist circumference were qualitative confounding variables. CONCLUSIONS: A small thigh circumference was associated with increasing levels of lipid profiles including triglyceride and decreasing level of HDL cholesterol. Through additional researches, establishment of causality is necessary.