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

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.