Abstract
BACKGROUND:A central distribution of adipose tissue is frequently associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its risk factors.
METHODS:Clinical usefulness of waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) for predicting the risk of cardiovascular events, estimated with models based on data from the Framingham and Prospective Cardiovascular Münster (PROCAM) studies was evaluated.
SUBJECTS:These were 552 men and 160 women, asymptomatic and at risk for CVD, aged 30–74 y, recruited from an ongoing risk factor screening program conducted at worksites.
RESULTS:Abdominal fatness was a strong predictor of cardiovascular complications in subjects whose WHR was in the top quintile (>0.98 for men and >;0.91 for women). The estimated percentage rate of coronary heart disease (CHD, P<0.01) and death (P<0.01), myocardial infarction (P<0.01), stroke (P<0.01), total CVD (P<0.001) and death (P<0.01) increased with increasing quintile of WHR in men and women. In the highest WHR, the number of subjects exceeding a 15% risk of developing a coronary event over the next 10 y was more than two-fold greater (odds ratio (OR) 2.60 (confidence intervals (CI) 1.09–6.54) than in the lowest WHR quintiles. Similar six-year myocardial infarction (MI) risks at each quintile of WHR were observed in men in both Framingham and PROCAM models. In the overall population, CHD estimates increased with increasing quintiles of WHR with the Framingham model and an adapted model for estimating probabilities of disease in the French population of the Prévention Cardiovasculaire en Médecine du Travail (PCV-METRA) group.
CONCLUSION:Abdominal deposition of fat assessed by WHR may be of strong clinical value for predicting high risk of cardiovascular events.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Megnien, J., Denarie, N., Cocaul, M. et al. Predictive value of waist-to-hip ratio on cardiovascular risk events. Int J Obes 23, 90–97 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0800764
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0800764
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Waist to hip ratio and trunk to extremity fat (DXA) are better surrogates for IMCL and for visceral fat respectively than for subcutaneous fat in adolescent girls
Nutrition & Metabolism (2010)
-
Body fat distribution modulates insulin sensitivity in post-menopausal overweight and obese women: a MONET study
International Journal of Obesity (2008)
-
Predictors of abdominal obesity among 31-y-old men and women born in Northern Finland in 1966
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2004)
-
Comparison of anthropometric parameters as predictors of serum lipids in premenopausal women
Journal of Endocrinological Investigation (2004)
-
Adiposity and dietary intake in cardiovascular risk in an obese population from a Mediterranean area
Journal of Physiology and Biochemistry (2004)