Faculty Collaboration Database

Is waist circumference a better predictor of insulin resistance than body mass index in U.S. adolescents? J Adolesc Health 2011 Sep;49(3):330-3

Date

08/23/2011

Pubmed ID

21856529

Pubmed Central ID

PMC3188962

DOI

10.1016/j.jadohealth.2010.12.008

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-80052033816 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   18 Citations

Abstract

PURPOSE: To determine whether waist circumference (WC) is a better predictor of insulin resistance (IR) than body mass index (BMI) in U.S. adolescents aged 12-18 years.

METHODS: Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2002, we evaluated an ethnically diverse sample of 1,571 adolescents with regard to BMI, WC, and fasting glucose and insulin levels. Children were classified as having IR if they had a homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (insulin [U/mL] × glucose [mmol/L]/22.5) of greater than 4.39.We created receiver operating characteristic curves predicting IR across various thresholds of WC and BMI, and area under the curve was compared.

RESULTS: The prevalence rate of IR in the study population was 11.8%. Measures of test performance (sensitivity and specificity) for predicting IR were similar for abnormal BMI and WC thresholds; that is, thresholds of BMI 85th% and WC 75th% and thresholds of BMI 95th% and WC 90th% were quite similar. There were no significant differences in area under the curve for WC versus BMI (.85; 95% CI, .83-.88; p = .84) either for the overall population or for specific racial groups.

CONCLUSIONS: WC does not seem to provide a distinct advantage over BMI for identifying adolescents with IR.

Author List

Kotlyarevska K, Wolfgram P, Lee JM

Author

Peter M. Wolfgram MD Associate Professor in the Pediatrics department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Adolescent
Attitude to Health
Body Constitution
Body Mass Index
Female
Humans
Insulin Resistance
Male
Mexican Americans
Obesity
Odds Ratio
Predictive Value of Tests
Prevalence
ROC Curve
Reference Standards
United States
Waist Circumference