Rouham Yamout
American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Title: Comparison of obesity indices for detecting metabolic Impairments in Lebanese adults
Biography
Biography: Rouham Yamout
Abstract
Introduction: In the goal of selecting the optimal obesity measurement to be adopted in
multifactorial cardiovascular screening, this study examines three obesity indices: body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) to determine the optimal cutoff values that best discriminate individuals with cardiometabolic or cardiovascular diseases, and compare their predictive characteristics against five cardio-metabolic and cardiovascular outcome measures.
Methods: The service used a questionnaire and direct measurements to assess history of cardiovascular disease (CVD), blood sugar levels, blood pressure, dyslipidemia, smoking status, family history of premature CVD, and socioeconomic characteristics of individuals having attended 25 primary health care centers. The screening records of 2165 individuals were analyzed. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) was used to define the optimal cutoff points against a cardiovascular outcome defined as the presence of two cardiometabolic impairments or history of CVD. The predictive characteristics of the three obesity indices were defined by comparing the ROC Areas under the Curve (AUC) and the odds ratio obtained from adjusted logistic models run between each of the three obesity indices against each of the five outcome measures.
Results: The analysis showed optimal cutoff points different from those recommended internationally: BMI: ≥ 28. 6 kg/m2 and ≥ 27.2 kg/m2; WC: ≥ 99 cm and ≥ 92cm; WHtR: ≥ 0.58 ≥ 0.57, for men and women respectively. The central obesity indices were better predictors than BMI for most outcomes assessed according to AUC and logistic analysis.
Conclusion: The authors recommend the use of Waist circumference measurement in cardiovascular screening.