DIAGNOSTIC PERFORMANCE OF WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE MEASUREMENTS FOR PREDICTING CARDIOMETABOLIC RISK IN MEXICAN CHILDREN.

Area of Science:

• Pediatric endocrinology
• Cardiovascular health
• Public health

Background:

• Abdominal fat accumulation is linked to cardiometabolic issues.
• Waist circumference (WC) indirectly measures abdominal adiposity.
• Optimal WC reference values for identifying at-risk children remain debated.

Purpose of the Study:

• Evaluate various WC indices for identifying abdominal obesity in Mexican children and adolescents.
• Assess the diagnostic utility of these indices for predicting cardiometabolic risk.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study of 366 children and adolescents.
• Measured anthropometrics and biochemical profiles.
• Assessed four abdominal obesity indices: WC >90th percentile (Fernández/NCHS, Klünder/WHO) and WHtR >0.5 (WHO, NCHS).

Main Results:

• WHtR >0.5 (WHO/NCHS) showed higher sensitivity (74.3–100%) for detecting metabolic abnormalities than percentile-based WC (59.0–88.9%).
• WC percentiles demonstrated greater specificity (46.2–62.2%) compared to WHtR (21.3–46.9%).
• WHtR >0.5 better identified hypertriglyceridemia, hypoalphalipoproteinemia, and multiple metabolic abnormalities; Klünder WC >90th percentile better identified hyperglycemia.

Conclusions:

• WHtR >0.5 is a sensitive, though less specific, tool for identifying pediatric cardiometabolic alterations.
• This index is valuable for detecting at-risk populations.
• The Klünder WC reference is recommended over the Fernández method for Mexican pediatric populations.