Identification of waist circumference cutoffs for abdominal obesity in the Chinese population: a 7.8-year follow-up study in the Shanghai urban area.

AIM: To identify the appropriate visceral adipose tissue (VAT) cutoff values for the diagnosis of abdominal obesity in predicting diabetes and the corresponding waist circumference in the Chinese population.

METHODS: At baseline, 381 volunteers aged 35-75 years were enrolled without diabetes from the Shanghai urban area. Anthropometry and VAT area determined by magnetic resonance imaging were measured. During the average 7.8 years of follow-up, glucose tolerance was monitored. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to define the optimal cutoff points for abdominal obesity.

RESULTS: At the end of the study, 290 participants were followed up, in which 63 participants developed diabetes. Using ROC curve analyses in participants with normal glucose regulation, the appropriate VAT cutoff was 90 cm(2) for both genders to predict diabetes development. In logistic regression models, the relative risks (95% confidence intervals) of VAT value over 90 cm(2) were 3.35 (1.10-10.18, P=0.033) in men and 4.57 (1.73-12.07, P=0.002) in women after adjusted for age, impaired glucose regulation, hypertension and dyslipidemia. The optimal waist circumference cutoffs were 88 cm for men and 82 cm for women to indicate VAT value over 90 cm(2) in ROC analyses.

CONCLUSION: VAT cutoff of 90 cm(2) is useful for defining visceral obesity in Chinese individuals. The appropriate waist circumference cutoffs for abdominal obesity are 88 cm for men and 82 cm for women in the Chinese population.