Correlation between Neck Circumference and Other Anthropometric Measurements in Eight Latin American Countries. Results from ELANS Study

Abstract

Neck circumference (NC) is being used to identify the risk of chronic diseases. There is a high prevalence of overweight and obesity in Latin America, and neck circumference is a simple and practical measurement to assess this, especially in primary health centers. We analyzed the correlation between the NC anthropometric indicator and other anthropometric measurements such as BMI and waist circumference (WC) in eight Latin American cities. We applied Pearson’s correlation to identify the correlate NC with the other anthropometric variables stratified by sex; the sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) by sex were evaluated according to the cut-off established with the Youden Index. The strongest correlations between NC and WC were found when stratified by sex (women: r = 0.71; men: r = 0.69, respectively) followed by the correlation between NC and BMI (r = 0.65, both sex). NC cut-off points of 39.0 cm in men and 32.9 cm in women identified those individuals with an increased WC and 39.8 and 33.7 cm, respectively, for a substantial increase in WC. For BMI ≥ 25.0 kg/m2 for men, the cut-off point was 37.5 cm, and for women, it was 33.1 cm, and for BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2, the cut-off points were 39.2 and 34.2 cm, for men and women, respectively. Conclusion: NC proved to be a useful, practical, and inexpensive tool that can be used to identify, evaluate, and monitor overweight and obese individuals.

Relação de indicadores antropométricos com a infecção por Helicobacter pylori em pacientes dispépticos

“…Estudos têm investigado a relação entre a CP e os risco de DCV (Liria-Domínguez et al, 2021;Ebrahimi et al, 2021;Mendes et al, 2021). Silva et al (2014) estabeleceram em adultos, valores > 40 cm para homens e > 36,1 cm para mulheres, como fator de risco para predizer o risco à resistência insulínica e síndrome metabólica.…”

Is Neck Circumference Related to Other Anthropometric Measurements and Biochemical Parameters in Type 2 Diabetes?

“…A study by Dominguez et al on 9218 individuals from eight Latin American countries suggested a moderate positive correlation between NC and WC, and NC and BMI (respectively; r=0.64, r=0.51) in overweight individuals. The study reported a moderate correlation between NC and WC (r=0.69) in men and a strong correlation (r=0.70) in women [ 11 ].…”

“…Instead of these reliable but costly methods with low applicability, WC measurement is widely used as an indicator of abdominal fat. Waist circumference measurement is considered a more specific metabolic risk indicator than BMI, as it differentiates between visceral fat and lean body mass in the abdomen [ 11 ]. In recent years, the use of neck circumference (NC) has come to the fore as a stable index to determine the distribution of subcutaneous adipose tissue as an indicator of abdominal obesity [ 12 ].…”

“…WC measurement is affected by distention and respiration; however, the NC measurement is an easy-to-apply anthropometric measurement that remains unaffected when measured throughout the day. It is also associated with risk factors such as hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia, blood pressure, insulin resistance, and obstructive sleep apnea, independent of BMI and WC [ 11 ].…”

Perceived urban environment attributes and obesity indices in adults: an 8-Nation study from Latin America

“…In addition to the body mass index, several studies have demonstrated the association of anthropometric indices such as neck and waist circumferences, waist-to-height ratio and body shape index, with risk factors for chronic diseases and mortality [25][26][27][28] . Although BMI is the best-known anthropometric index and is used as a way of estimating overweight and obesity, it does not provide any information on the distribution of body fat 29 .…”