A study of waist hip ratio in identifying cardiovascular risk factors at Government Dharmapuri College Hospital

Introduction: Rising incidence of Diabetes mellitus, Systemic hypertension and Dyslipidemia, the well-known risk factor for cardiovascular disease is the leading cause for increased incidence of cardiovascular diseases1. Till today, body mass index and waist circumference are the two popular parameters used to assess the cardiovascular risk factors. Though Asian people are not overtly obese, they are still at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and this may be due to presence of visceral obesity, but the cut off value for waist circumference. Aim of the Study: To assess the effectiveness of the newer anthropometric index, Waist/Height ratio in identifying cardiovascular risk factors. To compare the effectiveness of various anthropometric indices Body mass index, Waist Circumference and Waist/Height ratio in identifying Cardiovascular risk factors. Materials and Methods: 135 patients were included in our study. Careful history taking was first taken in these patients regarding pre-existing diabetes mellitus, systemic hypertension and dyslipidemia and about the treatment for these illnesses. In all these patients the following anthropometric measurements are done: Height, weight, waist Circumference were measured using standard methods. Results: In our study, 135 patients was selected randomly. The cut off values of anthropometric indices which was taken as abnormal were Body mass index > 25kg/m2, Waist Circumference Males > 90 cm Females > 85 cm, Waist/Height ratio > 0.5. Conclusion: Waist/Height ratio with cut off > 0.5 was found to be an effective, newer and cheaper anthropometric index in identifying cardiovascular disease.