Body mass index and waist circumference associate to a comparable degree with insulin resistance and related metabolic abnormalities in South Asian women and men

• Published in: Diabetes & vascular disease research Vol. 9; no. 4; pp. 296 - 300
• Main Authors: Abbasi, Fahim, Malhotra, Donna, Mathur, Ashish, Reaven, Gerald M, Molina, César R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.10.2012
• Subjects: Adiposity - ethnology; Adult; Asia, Southeastern - ethnology; Asian Continental Ancestry Group; Biomarkers - blood; Blood Glucose - analysis; Blood Pressure; Body Mass Index; C-Reactive Protein - analysis; California - epidemiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dyslipidemias - ethnology; Female; Fibrinogen - analysis; Humans; Hypertension - ethnology; Insulin - blood; Insulin Resistance - ethnology; Lipids - blood; Male; Metabolic Syndrome - blood; Metabolic Syndrome - ethnology; Metabolic Syndrome - physiopathology; Middle Aged; Obesity - blood; Obesity - ethnology; Obesity - physiopathology; Sex Factors; Waist Circumference - ethnology; Body mass index; dyslipidemia; South Asians; waist circumference; insulin resistance
• ISSN: 1479-1641; 1752-8984
• DOI: 10.1177/1479164111433578

Aim: The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) associate to a comparable degree with insulin resistance and cardiometabolic risk factors in South Asians. Methods: We measured blood pressure and fasting glucose, insulin, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and fibrinogen and calculated the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in a community-based sample of 923 nondiabetic South Asians. Results: BMI and WC were highly correlated in both genders (r = 0.82 and 0.87). The relationship between BMI and values of blood pressure, glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, triglyceride, HDL-C, hs-CRP, and fibrinogen was comparable to that between WC and these variables. Fasting insulin and HOMA-IR correlated most strongly with BMI (r = 0.49 to 0.56) and WC (r = 0.52 to 0.59). Conclusion: These results show that BMI and WC associate to a comparable degree with estimates of insulin resistance and related metabolic abnormalities in South Asians.