Waist-to-hip ratio is an independent predictor of cardiovascular risk in elderly women, but waist circumference is not, according to Dr. Marcos A.S. Cabrera of the State University of Londrina (Brazil) and his associates.
Abdominal adiposity, a component of metabolic syndrome, “is an important determinant of cardiovascular risk in middle-aged women, but its effects on the elderly are still poorly understood,” the researchers said.
They assessed abdominal adiposity, as measured by both waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio, and cardiovascular events in a prospective cohort study of 516 women aged 60–84 years when they presented for health care at a geriatric clinic in 1997–1998. The women were followed every 6 months for approximately 7 years. During that time, 89 subjects (17%) died and 94 (18%) experienced cardiovascular events.
Most of the study subjects had abdominal adiposity at baseline: 63% of the subjects had a waist circumference greater than 88 cm, and 86% had a waist-to-hip ratio greater than 0.85. However, only 29% were obese.
There was a significant association between waist-to-hip ratio values above the 75th percentile and cardiovascular events, but no association between waist circumference above the 75th percentile and such events, Dr. Cabrera and his associates said (Int. J. Cardiol. 2007;114:224–9). This indicates that waist-to-hip ratio is a better measure of cardiovascular risk than is waist size in elderly women, they suggested.