Waist Circumference as a Screening Tool for Metabolic Syndrome in Resource-Limited Countries

Authors

  • Abdullah Murhaf Al Khani Craigavon Area Hospital, Southern Health & Social Care Trust, Craigavon, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
  • Mohamed Abdelghafour Khalifa Roseberry Park Hospital, Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire United Kingdom
  • Amjad Chamsi Basha Department of Clinical Radiology, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, Plymouth, United Kingdom
  • Syed Muhammad Baqui Billah Department of Community Medicine, Sher-e-Bangla Medical College, Barishal, Bangladesh

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31344/ijhhs.v8i3.724

Keywords:

Metabolic syndrome, waist circumference, body mass index, health status indicators

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) has been increasing, especially in developing countries. It is important to have an easy to perform and inexpensive screening system in such resource-bound countries.

Objective: To compare the value of waist circumference over body mass index (BMI) for a better assessment of MetS.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we collected data from 492 participants residing in both urban and rural areas of Bangladesh, as a secondary dataset from another previous cross-sectional study. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were performed to construct three curves that illustrate the sensitivity and specificity of waist circumference vs. BMI in predicting the presence of MetS.

Results: The overall prevalence of MetS was 38.6% and was higher among males. In addition, waist circumference showed a consistent strong statistical association with the ATP III components. More importantly, diagnostic accuracy analysis of waist circumference showed a sensitivity and a specificity of 72.6% and 68.3% in females and 88% and 85%, in males, respectively. In contrast, BMI resulted in a sensitivity and a specificity of 65.8% and 62.9% in females and 76.1% and 64%, in males, respectively.

Conclusion: Waist circumference could be used as good predictor of MetS. Clinicians should use this information in their practice to ease the financial burden associated with diagnosing MetS.

International Journal of Human and Health Sciences Vol. 08 No. 03 Jul’24 Page: 283-288

Downloads

Published

2024-08-25

How to Cite

Al Khani, A. M., Khalifa, M. A., Basha, A. C., & Billah, S. M. B. (2024). Waist Circumference as a Screening Tool for Metabolic Syndrome in Resource-Limited Countries. International Journal of Human and Health Sciences (IJHHS), 8(3), 283–288. https://doi.org/10.31344/ijhhs.v8i3.724

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 3 (2024)

Section

Original Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2024 Abdullah Murhaf Al Khani, Mohamed Abdelghafour Khalifa, Amjad Chamsi Basha, Syed Muhammad Baqui Billah

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish in the International Journal of Human and Health Sciences agree to the following terms that:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant International Journal of Human and Health Sciences the right of first publication of the work.

  2. Creative Commons Licence
    Articles in International Journal of Human and Health Sciences are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License CC BY-4.0.This license permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
  3. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  4. Authors are permitted to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as greater citation of published work.