[Central and general obesity measures for prediction of cardiovascular disease in diabetic adults: Tehran lipid and glucose study]

Considering the high prevalence of diabetes mellitus worldwide and in the Middle East countries and high prevalence of cardiovascular disease [CVD] in diabetic patients, this study aimed to compare different abdominal and central obesity measures, as important risk factors of CVD, for prediction of CVD in Iranian men and women with type 2 diabetes. We followed 1010 patients with type 2 diabetes for a median follow up period of almost 8 years. The hazard ratios [HRs] for CVD were calculated for a 1 standard deviation [SD] change in each anthropometric measure, using Cox proportional regression analysis. A hundred and eighty-eight cardiovascular events occurred in diabetic patients. In the age adjusted model, in diabetic men, waist to hip ratio [WHR], waist to height ratio [WHtR] and waist [WC] were associated significantly with CVD but in the multivariate model, only WHR was associated significantly with CVD. WC in diabetic women and WHtR in both genders were marginally associated with CVD. Central obesity measures were stronger than the general obesity parameter for prediction of CVD in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus and WHR was the most important anthropometric measure in these patients in both genders