Identification of Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases in Asymptomatic Young Adults Using Neck Circumference

Author(s): Purushottam Pramanik*

Abstract: Indians have high probability of having cardiovascular disease (CVD) at an early age than the Western world. World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended waist circumference (WC), marker of central obesity, as a tool for assessment of risk of CVD. The use of WC has certain limitations whereas neck circumference (NC) which has been attributed to increased cardiovascular risk as well as good marker of central obesity like WC. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between NC and other anthropometric obesity markers and to examine the cut-off point of NC on gender basis according to existing WC cut-off levels of Asian population. This cross-sectional survey was conducted among undergraduate students of West Bengal, India. The anthropometric and BP measurements were carried out on 2400 (males-895 and females-1505) students. Body height, weight, NC, WC, Hip Circumference (HC) and Blood Pressure (BP) were measured by standard methods. BMI and Waist to Hip ratio (WHR) were estimated. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was calculated to determine association between NC and other measurement variables. Receiving Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to assess the optimum cut-off levels of NC with WC. In both sexes significant positive correlations were noted between NC and BMI, WC, WHR and blood pressure. NC > 35. 8 cm for males and >31.45cm for females are to be considered the optimal cut-off values to determine the risk of cardiovascular disease in respect to WC. NC measurement is a simple, convenient, inexpensive and noninvasive hence could be used as a convenient for early detection of risk of cardiovascular disease in young adults.

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