Ethnic differences in the relationships of anthropometric measures to metabolic risk factors in Asian patients at risk of atherothrombosis: results from the REduction of Atherothrombosis for Continued Health (REACH) Registry.

Description

This paper sought to examine the associations between four anthropometric indices and metabolic risk factors (hypertension, atherogenic dyslipidemia, and glucose intolerance) in different Asian ethnic groups of patients at risk of atherothrombosis. The analyses were based on baseline data of 11,017 Asian patients with established cardiovascular disease or at least 3 atherothrombotic risk factors. The results showed interethnic differences in the distribution of anthropometric indices and in the relationships of body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference with metabolic risk factors. In East Asians (Chinese and Japanese), BMI was found to be a better correlate of metabolic risk factors compared to waist circumference, particularly in women. Among Southeast Asians, sex-specific associations were observed with BMI being more important in women and waist circumference being a stronger correlate of metabolic risk factors in men. These data suggest that both BMI and waist circumference should be included in metabolic risk assessment in the high-risk multiethnic Asian populations. In addition, ethnic-specific cutoff values for anthropometric index should be determined.