Age and sex difference in waist-to-height ratio as index for metabolic syndrome among non-overweight Chinese adults / 中华内分泌代谢杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the utility of waist-to-height ratio ( WHtR ) in predicting metabolic syndrome ( MS) among non-overweight Chinese adults, and to investigate the difference by age and sex. Methods Based on a population-based cross-sectional survey on MS in Zhejiang province in 2010, data of 10 792 non-overweight (body mass index<24. 0 kg/m2 ) adults aged 18 years and older were analyzed by using the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis and multiple logistic regression. Results The area under ROC curve (AUC) values of WHtR in MS prediction were 0. 765(95%CI 0. 740-0. 789) and 0. 786(95%CI 0. 765-0. 807), and odds ratios(OR) of WHtR for MS were 1. 23(95%CI 1. 20-1. 27) and 1. 22(95%CI 1. 20-1. 26) in non-overweight men and women, respectively. These two values were with significant difference among non-overweight adults with different agedandsexes(P<0.01). No-overweightmenhadsmallerAUCandORamong18-34agegroupwhilelargerAUCand OR among 35-49, 50-64, and 65-plus age groups than women. The AUC and OR showed slight difference among age groups in non-overweight men, while these two values decreased with age in non-overweight women. The optimal cutoff value was higher in non-overweight women (0. 509 vs 0. 498) than that in men. Non-overweight men aged 50-64 years old had higher cutoff value than those aged 18-34, 35-49, and 65-plus years, while among non-overweight women the cutoff values increased with age. Conclusion WHtR had preferable discriminatory power and association with MS among non-overweight Chinese adults. Further studies should be conducted to explore the difference by age and sex.