Indicators of Adiposity Predictors of Metabolic Syndrome in the Elderly

Abstract

Background: Adiposity indicators can be used as predictors of cardiovascular risk in the elderly. However, there are only a very few studies that deal with the accuracy of adiposity indicators as predictors of metabolic syndrome (MS) in the elderly. We evaluated the performance of adiposity indicators of MS prediction in the elderly. Methods: A cross-sectional study with 203 elderly people of both genders. Variables: MS defined by harmonized criteria, waist circumference (WC), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), conicity index (CI), lipid accumulation product (LAP), and visceral adiposity index (VAI). Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), sensitivity (sens) and specificity (spec). Results: The WC, WHtR, and LAP indicators showed the highest AUC, with values greater than 0.84. For the general population, WHtR and LAP had the highest Youden index values, identifying a point of approximately 0.55 (sens: 85.6%; spec: 80.4%) for WHtR and 32.3 (sens: 81.1%; spec: 75.0%) for LAP. When analyzed by gender, it was observed that the WC and WHtR had the highest Youden index values for prediction of MS in both genders. The CI and VAI showed the lowest discriminatory power for MS. Conclusion: Both the adiposity indicators, WC and WHtR, as well as LAP, had high accuracy in MS discrimination. Therefore, they are effective in MS assessment in the elderly and during follow-up for individual and collective clinical practice.

Predictive capacity of indicators of adiposity in the metabolic syndrome in elderly individuals

“…Another study on Iranian elderly men identified a higher cutoff point than the one found in the present study, 0.58 (AUC=0.68; 95% CI:0.60 -0.75) [4]. A study conducted in Salvador, Brazil, with 203 elderly individuals residing in a long-term institution in Salvador, identified a cut-off point for the MetS predictor WHeR equal to that of the present study for males, 0.55 (AUC=0.89, 95% CI:0.71-0.98), with sensitivity and specificity values of 0.92 and 0.90, respectively [11].…”

“…This study, conducted on 113 elderly women from Viçosa (MG), found a WHR cutoff point of 0.6 (AUC=0.67; 95.0% CI:0.58 -0.76) in MetS, with a sensitivity of 73.3% [22], a similar result to the one found in the present study (0.59). In another Brazilian study with institutionalized elderly in Salvador, the sample consisted of 77.8% women, showing a lower cutoff point, 0.54 (AUC=0.856, CI 95.0%: 0.78-0.91), sensitivity of 0.84 and specificity of 0.78 [11].…”

“…However, there is still no consensus about which adiposity indicator is the best predictor of cardiovascular events resulting from body fat accumulation within this age group [5,[8][9][10][11].…”

Cardiovascular risk assessment using the lipid accumulation product index among primary healthcare users: a cross-sectional study

“…7 The LAP index may thus constitute an abdominal adiposity marker that correlates with central lipid accumulation. 8 Since the LAP index was first proposed, in Kahn's pioneering study, 9 many researchers have used it to predict cardiovascular risk in different populations, such as among patients with type 2 diabetes 6 or insulin resistance, 10 women with polycystic ovarian syndrome 10,11 and hospital outpatients 12 and inpatients. 7 However, no studies have evaluated the use of this index among patients attending primary care units.…”

Development of an Easy-to-Use Visual Aid for the Prediction of Body Fat Based on Waist Circumference and Height in Asian Chinese Adults

“…DIPOSITY IS AN INDEPENDENT PREDICTOR OF metabolic diseases, which makes its measurement crucial. 1,2 Body fat percentage (%BF) can be measured accurately and precisely using dualenergy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). 3 However, such equipment is expensive and bulky, 4 which makes it inconvenient for use in community health screening settings.…”