Correlation of hypertension with waist circumference in Iranian adults

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the most important cause of mortality in developed and developing countries. Hypertension is a major risk factor for CVD. Waist circumference (WC) cut-off point is a simple way to recognize risk of developing hypertension. However, there are different cut-off points for different races, including Iranians.

The objective of this article was to determine the association between WC and hypertension as an important cardiovascular risk factor in the Iranian population.

A total of 850 subjects (430 women and 420 men) older than 18 years, who were residents in the urban and rural areas throughout Arak city, Iran, were included in the present study. WC of subjects was measured to identify its relationship with hypertension. Fasting plasma glucose and lipid profile were also measured.

WC cut-off point to predict hypertension was 89 cm and 93 cm for men and women, respectively, by using receiver operator characteristic curve analysis.

The results of our analysis showed that the cut-off point of WC in the Iranian population is greater than other Asians and WC is a strong index to predict hypertension.