Räikkönen K, Matthews K A, Kuller L H
University of Helsinki.
Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 1999 Aug;23(8):775-82. doi: 10.1038/sj.ijo.0800917.
To identify the best predictor among waist circumference, waist to hip ratio (WHR), weight and body mass index (BMI) of visceral obesity across 8.5-10.8 y. We also examined whether changes in waist across the study period co-occur with changes in psychosocial distress or quality of life, and tested whether action levels of waist (level 1 < 80 cm, level 1-2: 80-87.9 cm, level 2 > or = 88 cm) differentiate between women with varying levels of psychosocial distress and quality of life.
Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) was determined by computerized-tomography at the L4-L5 disc space, and waist circumference, WHR, weight and BMI by anthropometric techniques in a population-based sample of postmenopausal Healthy Women Study participants. Psychosocial distress and quality of life were assessed by standardized tests of personality and behavior. The n varied from 120-345, depending on the research question.
Waist circumference was superior over the other anthropometric measures in predicting VAT accounting for 40.1-63.5% of the variance in VAT over the study period (P < 0.001). Associations between symptoms of depression, anxiety or distress, low levels of social support or impaired quality of life with waist circumference were cross-sectional (P < 0.04), with lower levels of distress and less impaired daily functioning being characteristic to women at the action level 1 relative to levels 1-2 or 2. Increasing anger over time was associated longitudinally with increasing waist circumference (P < 0.03).
Identification of healthy women with large waist circumferences is important for prevention and intervention of poor quality of life and chronic disease.
