BMI compared with central obesity indicators as a predictor of diabetes incidence in Mauritius.

The aim of the study was to compare BMI with waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-stature ratio (WSR) as a predictor of diabetes incidence. A total of 1,841 men and 2,104 women of Mauritian Indian and Mauritian Creole ethnicity, aged 25-74 years, free of diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and gout were seen at baseline in 1987 or 1992, and follow-up in 1992 and/or 1998. At all time points, participants underwent a 2 h 75 g oral glucose tolerance test.

Comparison of body mass index with waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, and waist-to-stature ratio as a predictor of hypertension incidence in Mauritius.

Objective: Comparison of BMI with waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-stature ratio (WSR) as a predictor of hypertension incidence.

Methods: A total of 1658 men and 1976 women of Mauritian Indian and Mauritian Creole ethnicity, aged 25-74 years, free of hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and gout at baseline in 1987 or 1992, were re-examined in 1992 and/or 1998 using the same survey methodology. Hazard ratios (HRs) for hypertension incidence were estimated applying an interval censored survival analysis (R program) using age as timescale based on baseline obesity indicators.

Metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease.

The clustering of metabolic and pathophysiological cardiovascular risk factors has long been recognized but it was Reaven who popularized the syndrome in the Banting lecture of 1988. Since 1999, several major international or national organizations proposed their own definitions for the syndrome, named the metabolic syndrome. The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome varies according to definition, ethnicity and gender.