Comparison of different anthropometric indices for identifying dyslipidemia in school children

Abstract

Background: Anthropometric indices have been associated with dyslipidemia.

Objective: To compare the abilities of BMI, waist circumference (WC) and WC/height to identify children's dyslipidemia.

Methods: Students 1261 (639 male) age 9.5±2.1 years. were examined for anthropometry and lipid levels. Triglycerides ≥1.69 mmol/L and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) <0.91 mmol/L were considered abnormal per American Heart Association.

Results: The prevalence of abnormal triglycerides was 4.1% and HDL-C 8.1%. The areas under the receiver operator curves (ROC) were: BMI=0.87, WC=0.83, and WC/height=0.84 in predicting both low HDL-C and high triglycerides. Multiple regression analyses showed that the odds ratios (OR) were highest for WC [6.5], followed by WC/height [5.4], and BMI [4.9], for dyslipidemia.

Conclusions: The results suggest that WC, WC/height, and BMI similarly predicted dyslipidemia, using ROC analyses. However, regression analyses showed that WC followed by WC/height was most predictive of dyslipidemia.