Is waist circumference a better predictor of blood pressure, insulin resistance and blood lipids than body mass index in young Chilean adults?

Abstract

Background: It has been reported that waist circumference (WC) is a better predictor of cardiovascular risk factors than body mass index (BMI), although the findings have not been consistent. The aim of this study was to assess which measurement, BMI or WC, is more strongly associated with blood pressure, homeostatic model assessment (HOMA) and blood lipids in young Chilean adults. Methods: 999 subjects aged 22 to 28 years were randomly selected from a registry of individuals born between 1974 and 1978 at the Hospital of Limache, Chile. Weight, height, WC, blood pressure, HOMA and lipoproteins were assessed in a cross-sectional study. Results: In multivariable regressions BMI and WC were associated with blood pressure, HOMA and lipoproteins at similar level of explained variation (R 2 between 1.6 % for Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL) and 15.6 %, the highest for HOMA and triglycerides) and similarly OR in standardised logistic regressions between 1.1 (95 % CI: 0.9 and 1.4) for LDL and 2.