Comparison of adiposity indices in relation to prehypertension by age and gender: A community‐based survey in Henan, China

Abstract

Background To compare the efficiency of bioelectrical indices (visceral fat index [VFI], percentage body fat [PBF]) and anthropometric indices (body mass index, waist circumference, waist‐to‐height ratio, a body shape index ) in the relation to prehypertension (120‐139/80‐89 mm Hg) among the Chinese population. Methods Using stratified multistage random sampling method, a general population‐based sample of 11 175 adults in Henan province were selected from 2013 to 2015. The individuals were divided into three categories by blood pressure levels: normotension (<120 and 80 mm Hg), stage 1 prehypertension (120‐129/80‐84 mm Hg) and stage 2 prehypertension (130‐139/85‐89 mm Hg). Results VFI and PBF tended to increase with age in men and women. However, for each age‐specific group, men tended to have higher VFI than women (all P < 0.01) and women tended to have greater PBF (all P < 0.0001). The odds ratios (OR) and area under the receiver operating characteristic curves for prehypertension associated with adiposity indices declined with age. VFI and PBF showed higher standardized adjusted ORs for prehypertension in young (~40 years) men (VFI: 2.02‐3.05; PBF: 1.82‐2.80) and young women (VFI: 1.90‐2.58; PBF:1.70‐2.29). Moreover, based on Youden's index, VFI and PBF exhibited the superiority for identifying prehypertension in men (0.20‐0.32) and women (0.31‐0.39), respectively. Conclusion In summary, there was stronger association of VFI and PBF with prehypertension in men than in women, respectively, especially for young adults.

Different adiposity indices and their associations with hypertension among Chinese population from Jiangxi province

“…Previous studies reported that obesity was closely related with hypertension, which is consistent with our findings [5,10,20]. We found that all six adiposity indices were positively and significantly associated with hypertension and the ORs for hypertension increased monotonically with increasing levels of six adiposity indices.…”

The Hubungan Persentase Lemak Tubuh dengan Kejadian Prehipertensi pada Mahasiswa Preklinik

“…9 Besides, body fat percentage can also be a marker which is useful for identifying the risk of prehypertension in young adults. 28…”

Prognostic value of adiposity indices for hypertension

“…Thus, different markers of adiposity have been associated with hypertension in the general population of different geographical areas, both in adults and children, whether male or female. [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] One of the first key questions that may arise when dealing with this issue is the role of the different markers of obesity, mainly as predictors. Dozens of papers on obesity use different markers to assess obesity, but it is not clear which one is the most reliable.…”

“…Several studies have explored the relationship of hypertension with obesity in a cross‐sectional way. Thus, different markers of adiposity have been associated with hypertension in the general population of different geographical areas, both in adults and children, whether male or female …”

“…So far, and in most of the guidelines in force, the BMI and perhaps the WC have been pointed out as the most useful. However, in most cross‐sectional studies comparing different visceral and body fat indices and anthropometric measures as related to hypertension, there is an agreement in that BMI has a lower performance with respect to others and only very few of these studies suggest that other adiposity markers are not better than BMI, such as Taing et al in a study on near 6000 adults from India . In this way, an observational study on Singaporean, Malays, and Indians, suggested that, according to values of BF%, the currently recommended cut‐off values of BMI for overweight and obesity should be lowered …”