Body mass index and waist circumference associate to a comparable degree with insulin resistance and related metabolic abnormalities in South Asian women and men.

Aim: The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) associate to a comparable degree with insulin resistance and cardiometabolic risk factors in South Asians.

Methods: We measured blood pressure and fasting glucose, insulin, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and fibrinogen and calculated the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in a community-based sample of 923 nondiabetic South Asians.

Results: BMI and WC were highly correlated in both genders (r = 0.82 and 0.87). The relationship between BMI and values of blood pressure, glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, triglyceride, HDL-C, hs-CRP, and fibrinogen was comparable to that between WC and these variables. Fasting insulin and HOMA-IR correlated most strongly with BMI (r = 0.49 to 0.56) and WC (r = 0.52 to 0.59).

Conclusion: These results show that BMI and WC associate to a comparable degree with estimates of insulin resistance and related metabolic abnormalities in South Asians.