Abstract
Body fat distribution predicts cardiovascular events better than body-mass index (BMI). Waist circumference (WC) and neck circumference (NC) are inexpensive anthropometric measurements. We aimed to present the conditional distribution of WC and NC values according to BMI, stratified by age and sex, from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil) baseline data. We analyzed 15,085 ELSA-Brasil participants with complete data. We used spline quantile regression models, stratified by sex and age, to estimate the NC and WC quantiles according to BMI. To test a putative association between age and median NC or WC values, we built sex-specific median regression models using both BMI and age as explanatory variables. We present estimated 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles for NC and WC values, according to BMI, age, and sex. Predicted interquartile intervals for NC values varied from 1.6 to 3.8 cm and, for WC values, from 5.1 to 10.3 cm. Median NC was not associated with age in men (P=0.11) nor in women (P=0.79). However, median WC increased with advancing age in both sexes (P<0.001 for both). There was significant dispersion in WC and NC values for a given BMI and age strata for both men and women. WC, but not NC values, were associated with increasing age. The smaller influence of advancing age on the relationship between BMI and NC (compared to WC) values may be useful in longitudinal studies.
Highlights
The prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide and a growing body of evidence shows that body fat distribution might add important information for predicting cardiovascular events above and beyond body-mass index (BMI) itself [1].A seminal work published in the 1950s already reported that differences in the localization of adiposity between men and women are linked to their different cardiovascular profile [2]
We presented the conditional distribution of waist circumference (WC) and neck circumference (NC) values, according to age, sex, and BMI values in a large sample of Brazilian adults
There was a significant variance in WC and NC values for a given BMI and age strata for both men and women
Summary
The prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide and a growing body of evidence shows that body fat distribution might add important information for predicting cardiovascular events above and beyond body-mass index (BMI) itself [1].A seminal work published in the 1950s already reported that differences in the localization of adiposity between men and women are linked to their different cardiovascular profile [2]. The prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide and a growing body of evidence shows that body fat distribution might add important information for predicting cardiovascular events above and beyond body-mass index (BMI) itself [1]. Certain locations of fat accumulation have been linked to diverse cardiometabolic profiles [5], suggesting that regional fat distribution could play an important role in the development of cardiovascular diseases in both non-obese and obese people [5,6]. The Consensus Statement of the International Atherosclerosis Society [7] argued for the inclusion of waist circumference (WC) as a vital sign given that the prevalence of abdominal obesity is increasing and dysfunctional adipose tissue could be estimated more accurately by WC than BMI as shown in recent studies. It is difficult to measure body fat mass directly, while WC and neck circumference (NC) are inexpensive and obtainable anthropometric measurements [7,10]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
