The Relationship between Waist Circumference/Height Ratio and Risk Factors of Cardiovascular Disease in Obese Females

Kim, Seok Won; Kwon, Jae Hyeon; Yoon, Jung Geum; Lee, Hyuck Ki; Lee, Keun Mi; Jung, Seung Pil

Abstract

BACKGROUND: In this study we estimated the prevalence of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors according to waist-to- height ratio (W/Ht ratio) in adult obese women to ensure the importance of abdominal obesity and determined the usefulness of W/Ht ratio as a index of abdominal obesity in adult obese women.
METHODS
The study subjects were 190 adult obese women who visited an obesity clinic from August, 2001 to January, 2003. They were divided into 4 groups: Group 1; BMI<30, W/Ht<0.6, Group 2; BMI<30, W/Ht> or =0.6, Group 3; BMI> or =30, W/Ht<0.6, and Group 4; BMI> or =30, W/Ht> or =0.6. In each group, we compared the prevalence and odds ratio for CV risk factors.
RESULTS
In obese group, the prevalence of high blood glucose (P<0.01), hypertriglyceridemia (P<0.01) were significantly higher in group 2 than group 1. In high obese group, the prevalence of systolic hypertension (P<0.01), high blood glucose (P<0.01), hypercholesterolemia (P<0.01), hypertriglyceridemia (P<0.05), and high LDL-cholesterol were significantly higher in group 4 than group 3. When odds ratio for each group with reference to group 1 were compared after adjusting for age, high blood glucose (4.48), and hypertriglyceridemia (6.10) in group 2, and systolic hypertension (2.69), high blood glucose (3.02), and hypertriglyceridemia (4.00) in group 4 were significantly higher.
CONCLUSION
The prevalence of CV risk factors were likely to be increased in higher W/Ht group independently to BMI. W/Ht ratio can be a simple, useful index for abdominal obesity and its related risk factors not only in adult males but also in adult obese women.