Optimal Cut-off Point of Waist to Height Ratio in Beijing and Its Association with Clusters of Metabolic Risk Factors

Summary A host of studies found waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) having higher diagnostic value than other abdominal obesity anthropometric indicators for metabolic disorders. But the cut-off points are still not consistent. This study was aimed to explore the optimal cut-off point of WHtR in Chinese population and identify the association between WHtR and cluster of metabolic risk factors. In total, 13379 Han adults (7553 men and 5726 women) from over 40 institutions who took physical examination in Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University between January 2014 and January 2015 were involved in this cross-sectional study. Subjects with two or more components of metabolic syndrome (MetS) were considered to have multiple risk factors. Optimal cut-off points of WHtR for cluster of metabolic risk factors were analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The optimal cut-off points of WHtR were 0.51 for men and 0.49 for women. People with elevated WHtR had higher levels of metabolic risk factors. And the prevalence of individual and clusters of 5 risk factors were all higher among WHtR-defined abdominal obesity people than in normal subjects. The optimal cut-off points of WHtR were 0.51 for men and 0.49 for women. In conclusion, people with elevated WHtR are susceptible to cluster of metabolic risk factors.