Lean people with dysglycemia have a worse metabolic profile than centrally obese people without dysglycemia.

Aim: This study compared metabolic profiles of Asian Indians with normal waist circumference (WC) and dysglycemia versus those with high WC without dysglycemia.

Subjects And Methods: In 2,350 subjects ≥20 years of age from the Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiology Study with full anthropometric and biochemical characterization, high WC was defined as ≥90 cm in males and ≥80 cm in females. Dysglycemia was defined as prediabetes (fasting plasma glucose ≥100 mg/dL and/or 2-h plasma glucose ≥140 mg/dL) or diabetes (fasting plasma glucose ≥126 mg/dL, 2-h plasma glucose ≥200 mg/dL, or treatment for diagnosed diabetes). Coronary artery disease (CAD) was defined as known myocardial infarction or Q waves on electrocardiography. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to explore factors associated with CAD.

Results: Of the subjects, 260 (11.1%) had dysglycemia with normal WC, and 679 (28.9%), had high WC without dysglycemia. Compared with subjects with high WC without dysglycemia, those with dysglycemia/normal WC, adjusted for age, were more likely to be males (P<0.001) and have higher systolic blood pressure (P<0.05), higher serum triglycerides (P<0.001), higher tumor necrosis factor-α (P<0.001), lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P<0.05), and higher prevalence of CAD (6.3% vs. 2.0%; odds ratio 3.25 [95% confidence interval 1.52-6.94]; P=0.002).

Conclusions: Dysglycemia is associated with a worse cardiometabolic profile than central obesity alone.