Purpose To compare several anthropometric indices in the prediction of hypertension among adults. Methods This is a cross-sectional study. Five hundred and eighteen adult men and women (40.9 ± 10.5 years; 1.62 ± .09 m; 72.3 ± 15.6 kg) volunteered to participate and underwent blood pressure and anthropometric measures. Anthropometric assessments were used to calculate body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), waist-to-stature ratio (WSR), body adiposity index (BAI), and conicity index (C). Comparisons between men and women were carried out by independent t-test and chi-square test. Cut-off points for each adiposity index to predict hypertension were obtained using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analyses. The significance level was set at P ≤ .05. Results All adiposity indices regarding both genders showed significant odds ratios, except BAI (odds ratio: 1.534; CI: 0.916–2.571) for women. In men, WHR and WSR were considered as more balanced indices regarding their sensitivity (AUC: 73.8 and 71.4, respectively) and specificity (AUC: 77.6 and 73.1, respectively). In women, WHR and WSR presented areas under the ROC curves higher than C index (P = .007) and BAI (P = .03), respectively. Conclusion Indices that consider abdominal adiposity such as WC, WHR, and WSR have a stronger relationship with hypertension compared to others.

Introdução: A hipertensão arterial e a obesidade configuram graves e cada vez mais emergentes desfechos em saúde pública. Objetivo: o propósito deste estudo foi avaliar a prevalência de sobrepeso, obesidade e hipertensão na comunidade urbana de Planaltina, DF, Brasil. Materiais e Métodos: Participaram do estudo 629 voluntários de 20 a 90 anos de idade que responderam a um questionário de saúde e foram submetidos aos seguintes procedimentos: medida da pressão arterial e avaliação antropométrica. Resultados: A prevalência de hipertensão foi de 31,3%, sendo ligeiramente maior no sexo feminino (33,0 vs 28,1%) e crescente com o aumento da faixa etária. A prevalência de obesidade foi de 26,6%, sendo similar entre os sexos (26,7% no masculino e 26,5% no feminino). Excesso de peso (sobrepeso somado à obesidade) foi observado em mais de 50% da amostra em todas as faixas etárias. Conclusões: As prevalências de sobrepeso, obesidade, excesso de peso e hipertensão foram maiores do que as relatadas pelo inquérito telefônico mais recente do Ministério da Saúde. Esses achados são preocupantes e apontam para a premência de ações do poder público que interfiram positivamente na saúde da população estudada.

Background: Anthropometric indices are useful to identify excess weight and poor health outcomes. Previous research showed that some indices are correlated to blood pressure (BP) among adults. Yet, these associations are poorly characterized in women with sarcopenic obesity (SO). SO is characterized as the combination of sarcopenia and obesity and has been examined as an emerging cause of disorders and frailty. Objective: The study aims to examine the association between anthropometric indices and BP in community-dwelling women with and without SO. Method: 118 women (46.3 ± 15.6 years; 1.56 ± .07m; 66.9 ± 12.5kg) underwent BP and anthropometric assessments. Body weight, height, as well as waist (WC) and hip circumference were measured. Body mass index (BMI), body adiposity index (BAI), waist-to-hip (WHR) and waist-toheight (WHtR) ratio were calculated. SO was identified based on median values of percent body fat and muscle mass. Partial correlation was used to assess the association between adiposity indices and BP adopting age, presence of hypertension and use of antihypertensive medication as controlling variables. The significance level was set at P ≤ .05. Results: systolic BP was significantly higher in subjects with SO (126.4 ± 14.1 vs 121.0 ± 11.6mmHg, P = .01). Correlations between anthropometric indices and systolic BP were generally higher in women with SO, reaching statistical significance for WC (r = .39, P < .05) and WHtR (r = .30, P < .05) when age was the controlling variable. Conclusion: The association of adiposity indices and BP is stronger in subjects with SO when compared to those without SO.