Distribution of waist-to-height ratio and cardiometabolic risk in children and adolescents: a population-based study

This study was performed to evaluate the waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) distribution and assess its relationship with cardiometabolic risk in children and adolescents. A total of 8091 subjects aged 10-18 years were included from a nationally representative survey. Participants were classified into three groups: (1)<85th, (2)85th and<95th, and (3)95th percentile of WHtR. The WHtR distribution varied with sex and age. Whereas WHtR decreased from age 10-15 years in boys and from age 10-12 years in girls, it slightly increased thereafter. Compared to the<85th percentile group, the WHtR85th and<95th percentile group had an odds ratio (OR) of 1.2 for elevated blood pressure (BP), 1.89 for elevated triglycerides (TGs), 1.47 for reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and 4.82 for metabolic syndrome (MetS). The95th percentile group had an OR of 1.4 for elevated BP, 2.54 for elevated glucose, 2.22 for elevated TGs, 1.74 for reduced HDL-C, and 9.45 for MetS compared to the<85th percentile group. Our results suggest that sex- and age-specific WHtR percentiles can be used as a simple clinical measurement to estimate cardiometabolic risk.

Automated summary

The study demonstrated that waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) is influenced by gender and age, and can be used as a simple clinical measurement to assess cardiometabolic risk.