Association between obesity indicators and cardiometabolic disease in Chinese adults

Obesity is an established risk factor for cardiometabolic disease. Different measurements of obesity with cardiometabolic disease have been compared in recent studies in Western countries. However, obesity-related criteria for the Chinese population differ from the standard World Health Organization guidelines, and similar research in Chinese adults is limited.

Data were obtained from a comprehensive intervention project involving a community population with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risk factors in Shenzhen in 2015. A total of 4,000 participants (1,605 men and 2,395 women) with a mean age of 56.01±9.78 years were included in this study. Categorical data are reported as percentages, and continuous data are reported as mean ± standard deviation. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the associations of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and neck circumference (NC) with hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia among Chinese adults.

The participants had a mean BMI of 24.25±3.33 kg/m2, mean NC of 33.59±4.16 cm, and mean WC of 82.44±9.84 cm (men: 85.46±9.10 cm, women: 80.40±9.81 cm). Blood pressure, plasma glucose, and lipid levels in the BMI, WC, and NC groups were statistically significant (p < 0.05). BMI, WC, and NC were positively correlated with systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, total cholesterol, and triglyceride and negatively correlated with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p < 0.05), while the risk of hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia increased with an increase in BMI, WC, and NC (p < 0.05). One SD of BMI, WC, and NC resulted in an increase of 41%, 22%, and 31% risk of hypertension; 45%, 34%, and 47% risk of diabetes; and 37%, 32%, and 23% risk of dyslipidemia, respectively.

Compared to BMI and NC, WC was more strongly associated with cardiometabolic diseases in Chinese adults.