Body Shape Index Predicts Metabolic Syndrome and Insulin Resistance in Renal Transplant Recipients

Obesity is one of the most important metabolic diseases around the world. There are no reliable and inexpensive methods to evaluate obesity. All of the anthropometric measurements used have some limitations. In 2012, Krakauer et al developed a new method, called A Body Shape Index (ABSI), to identify abdominal obesity that is derived from weight, height, and waist circumference. In this study, we aimed to investigate the clinical usefulness of the ABSI to predict the presence of insulin resistance (IR) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in renal transplant recipients. A total of 155 patients were included in the study. Prevalence of IR was 17.4%, and MetS was 62.6%. ROC results demonstrated the power of all anthropometric indices to discriminate patients with and without MetS and IR in the renal transplant populations. ROC curves showed that waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) had the optimal power to discriminate MetS and IR in women. WC had higher area under curve than all other anthropometric indices to predict MetS and IR in men. WC in men and WHtR in women has higher discriminatory capacity to predict MetS and IR in renal transplant recipients. An obvious difference was observed in the optimal anthropometric measures between the 2 sexes, suggesting that sex-specific measures should be used in practice. In order to evaluate the value of ABSI in determining metabolic risk factors, studies with larger, randomized, controlled body fat ratios are needed.