Neck Circumference and its Correlation to Other Anthropometric Parameters and Finnish Diabetes Risk Score (FINDRISC)

The Neck Circumference (NC) is an anthropometric measure to evaluate obesity. The FINDRISC predicts the risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus. Our aims were to identify the mean value of NC in individuals with higher (≥15 points) and lower FINDRISC and to establish cutoff values that indicate individuals with higher FINDRISC.

It is a population-based, cross-sectional study representative of the city of Curitiba, Brazil. We studied individuals (>18 years), without diabetes mellitus, between August 2013 and August 2014. We evaluated anthropometric parameters, glycaemia, socioeconomic situation, chronic conditions, and their risk factors. In a sex-specific analysis, data are presented as mean and standard deviation. We performed Pearson's and Spearman's correlation between NC and the waist circumference, body mass index and FINDRISC. Receiver Operating Characteristic curves were estimated for NC and higher FINDRISC. Logistic regression models were built to analyze the association between higher FINDRISC and 1-SD increase in NC.

We studied 950 individuals (621 women) with a mean age of 47.4 ± 17.6 years and body mass index of 26.2 ± 5.6 kg/m2. The mean NCs were 34.1 ± 3.1 cm in women and 38.2 ± 3.5 cm in men. Mean NC was lower in women (33.7 ± 2.9 cm vs. 35.8 ± 3.2 cm) and men (37.7 ± 3.4 cm vs. 41 ± 3.6 cm) with lower FINDRISC (p <0.001). All the correlations with NC were significant (p ≤ 0.001). The area under the curve for NC and the higher FINDRISC was 0.702 (95% CI 0.653 - 0.752) for women and 0.762 for men (95% CI 0.679 - 0.845), determining the best cutoff value of 34.5 cm for women and 39.5 cm for men to discriminate individuals with higher FINDRISC. Fully adjusted odds ratios for higher FINDRISC per 1-SD increase in NC in women and men were, respectively 1.89 (95% CI 1.53 - 2.33) and 2.86 (95% CI 1.91 - 4.29).

NC is positively correlated to the body mass index, waist circumference, glycaemia, and FINDRISC scores in a population-based sample of adults. We identified the mean values of NC in higher and lower FINDRISC and established cutoff values for NC and higher FINDRISC.