The relationship between the waist-to-height ratio and glucose and lipid metabolism in Han adolescents.

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and glucose and lipid metabolism in Han adolescents aged 13-15 years.

Methods: A study was conducted on 1665 Han adolescents aged 13-15 years. Measurements included height, weight, waist circumference, fasting plasma glucose(FPG), triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The subjects were divided into two groups according to WHtR.

Results: Compared with the control group (n=1340,WHtR<0.46), the abdominal obesity group(n=325,WHtRe"0.46) had significantly higher levels of body mass index (BMI) (26.3+/-3.6 vs 18.9+/-2.3), WHtR (0.51+/-0.04 vs 0.40+/-0.03), FPG (4.99+/-0.48 vs 4.86+/-0.46), and triglyceride (1.21+/-0.62 vs 0.87+/-0.41), and a lower level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (1.26+/-0.27 vs 1.46+/-0.30) (P<0.01). Logistic regression analysis showed that after controlling for age, sex and BMI, the elevated FPG and dyslipidemia risk odds ratios of the abdominal obesity group were 1.954 (95% CI:1.250 approximately 3.054) and 2.012 (95% CI:1.204 approximately 3.362) (P<0.01) respectively. When clustered, the odds ratio of elevated FPG and dyslipidemia was 6.659 (95% CI: 1.337 approximately 33.159) (P<0.01).

Conclusion: The waist-to-height ratio is an appropriate measure to assess dyslipidemic-diabetic adolescents and should be used to guide early intervention with the aim of future prevention of these linked diseases.