Age-related differences in recommended anthropometric cut-off point validity to identify cardiovascular risk factors in ostensibly healthy women.

• AIM: To investigate validity of widely recommended anthropometric and total fat percentage cut-off points in screening for cardiovascular risk factors in women of different ages. METHODS: A population-based sample of 1002 Swedish women aged 38, 50, 75 (younger, middle-aged and elderly, respectively) underwent anthropometry, health examinations and blood tests. Total fat was estimated (bioimpedance) in 670 women. Sensitivity, specificity of body mass index (BMI; ≥25 and ≥30), waist circumference (WC; ≥80 cm and ≥88 cm) and total fat percentage (TF; ≥35%) cut-off points for cardiovascular risk factors (dyslipidaemias, hypertension and hyperglycaemia) were calculated for each age. Cut-off points yielding high sensitivity together with modest specificity were considered valid. Women reporting hospital admission for cardiovascular disease were excluded. RESULTS: The sensitivity of WC ≥80 cm for one or more risk factors was ~60% in younger and middle-aged women, and 80% in elderly women. The specificity of WC ≥80 cm for one or more risk factors was 69%, 57% and 40% at the three ages (p < .05 for age trends). WC ≥80 cm yielded ~80% sensitivity for two or more risk factors across all ages. However, specificity decreased with increasing age (p < .0001), being 33% in elderly. WC ≥88 cm provided better specificity in elderly women. BMI and TF % cut-off points were not better than WC. CONCLUSIONS: VALIDITY OF RECOMMENDED ANTHROPOMETRIC CUT-OFF POINTS IN SCREENING ASYMPTOMATIC WOMEN VARIES WITH AGE IN YOUNGER AND MIDDLE-AGE, WC ≥80 CM YIELDED HIGH SENSITIVITY AND MODEST SPECIFICITY FOR TWO OR MORE RISK FACTORS, HOWEVER, SENSITIVITY FOR ONE OR MORE RISK FACTOR WAS LESS THAN OPTIMAL WC ≥88 CM SHOWED BETTER VALIDITY THAN WC ≥80 CM IN ELDERLY OUR RESULTS SUPPORT AGE-SPECIFIC SCREENING CUT-OFF POINTS FOR WOMEN:

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Folkhälsovetenskap, global hälsa, socialmedicin och epidemiologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Anthropometric cut-off points; cardiovascular risk factors; dyslipidaemia; hypertension; public health; screening; sensitivity; specificity; total fat %; waist circumference

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