Neck circumference is associated with carotid intimal-media thickness but not with coronary artery calcium: Results from The ELSA-Brasil.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: It is uncertain whether neck circumference can be a risk indicator for subclinical atherosclerosis. We aimed to investigate their relationships measured by coronary artery calcium (CAC) and common carotid intima-media thickness (cc-IMT) with neck circumference in ELSA-Brasil. METHODS AND RESULTS: In cross-sectional and sex-specific analyses of 2266 women (50.6 ± 8.4 yrs) and 1886 men (50.7 ± 9.0 yrs) with both cc-IMT and CAC, free from previous cardiovascular disease at baseline, we built logistic models using diverse cut-off points for CAC score (0 vs > 0, < 100 vs ≥ 100, < 400 vs ≥ 400 Agatston units) and cc-IMT (< 75 th percentile vs ≥ 75 th; <90th percentile vs ≥ 90 th) as dependent variables, after which adjustments for age and traditional cardiovascular risk factors were made. Mean neck circumference was 33.6 (± 2.4 cm) for women and 38.8 (± 2.6 cm) for men. In fully adjusted models including sociodemographic, cardiovascular risk factors and body-mass index and waist circumference, for each 1 standard deviation increase in neck circumference we found an odds ratio (OR, 95% CI) for IMT above the 75th percentile of (1.52, 1.16; 1.99) for women and (1.66, 1.28; 2.14) for men, and above the 90th cc-IMT percentile [1.66 (1.19; 2.32) for men but not for women [1.21 (0.80; 1.82)]. We found no association between neck circumference and CAC using different cut-off points (p > 0.05 for all). CONCLUSION: Neck circumference was significantly and independently associated with cc-IMT but not with CAC in women and men, indicating a possible effect of perivascular fat tissue on atherosclerosis.

Neck and waist circumference values according to sex, age, and body-mass index: Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil).

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.

Neck and waist circumference values according to sex, age, and body-mass index: Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil)

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.