Neck Circumference as an Indicator of Central Obesity in Healthy Young Bosnian Adults: Cross-sectional Study

Neck Circumference Cut-Off for Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome in Nigeria

Objective

Neck circumference (NC) is a novel tool for diagnosing cardiometabolic disorders. We aimed to determine the NC cut-off for obesity and metabolic syndrome (MS) prediction in Nigeria.

Methods

The current study was based on data analysis of 557 staff and students of Ekiti State University/Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria, who took part in a cross-sectional health screening (August-December 2018). Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), WHpR (waist-to-hip ratio), WHtR (waist-to-height ratio), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP) values were determined by standard protocol. Fasting glucose and lipid profile were assayed for, and MS was defined by the harmonized criteria. The predictive ability of NC to identify people with obesity and MS was determined with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.

Results

In both men and women, NC had positive correlation (P<.001) with age, weight, BMI, WC, WHpR, WHtR, SBP and DBP. In men and women, the AUC of NC for all the anthropometric indices were significant (P<.0001). In men, the NC cut-off was 37cm for WHpR, 37.5cm for both BMI and WHtR, 38.3cm for WC, and 40.0cm for MS. In women, the NC cut-off for all the anthropometric indices (except WHpR) and MS was 33cm. In men, NC was as good as other obesity indices in predicting MS (P>.05 for differences in the AUC), but was inferior to BMI, WC and WHtR in women.

Conclusions

NC correlates with indices of adiposity and can serve as an alternate index for obesity and MS detection in Nigerians.

Accuracy of neck circumference for diagnosing overweight in six- and seven-year-old children

OBJECTIVE

To estimate the accuracy of neck circumference measurement as a method of diagnosing excess weight of six and seven-year-old children.

METHODS

1026 six and seven-year-old children were included and anthropometric data were collected using cut-off points for the Body Mass Index (BMI) Z-score, in addition to the measurement of their neck circumference in centimeters. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to assess the correlation between neck circumference and BMI. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were calculated. The Receiver Operating Characteristic curve was used to measure the accuracy of neck circumference as a diagnostic method for excess weight.

RESULTS

A positive linear correlation value was observed between neck circumference and BMI 0.572 (p<0.001). The accuracy value of the global ROC curve was 0.772 (p<0.001). Sensitivity and specificity showed low values, but high positive predictive values were observed, especially between measures of 30 and 31cm.

CONCLUSION

Neck circumference showed accuracy of 77.2% as a diagnostic method for overweightness in six and seven-year-old children.

Association among Neck Circumference and Percent Body Fat with Fasting Blood Glucose in Obese Female College Students

Background: Neck circumference could describe upper-body subcutaneous fat, correlated with obesity and diabetes mellitus.Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation between percent body fat and neck circumference with fasting blood glucose in obese female college students.Methods: The study was cross-sectional, conducted at Diponegoro University in June-August 2019. 119 participants were female, aged 17-21 years selected using the purposive sampling method. Measurement of waist circumference was used as an indicator of obesity. Percent body fat was measured using Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA), and neck circumference was measured using a met line. Fasting blood glucose was examined after the subject fasted for 8-12 hours, the amount of blood taken was 5 cc. Data were analyzed with the Rank-Spearman correlation test.Results: As many as 84% of subjects had excess percent body fat. The median neck circumference was 32.5 cm. The median fasting blood glucose was 87 mg / dL. There was a significant correlation between percent body fat with fasting blood glucose (r = 0.231) (p = 0.012). There was no correlation between neck circumference with fasting blood glucose (r = 0.137) (p = 0.137).Conclusion: Percent of body fat had a significant relationship with fasting blood glucose, and the greater the circumference of the neck, the greater fasting blood glucoseKeywords: Obesity, Neck Circumference, Percent Body Fat, Fasting Blood Glucose

The correlation between neck circumference and risk factors in patients with hypertension: What matters

It is necessary to identify the relationship between neck circumference and cardiovascular risk factors in patients with hypertension.Patients with hypertension treated in our hospital were included. The height, weight, neck circumference, waist circumference, fasting blood glucose, 2 h blood glucose (2hPPG), density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) were analyzed and compared.A total of 2860 patients with hypertension were included. There were significant differences between male and female patients in the neck circumference, waist circumference, fasting blood glucose, Total cholesterol, triacylglycerol, HDL-C, LDL-C, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, dyslipidemia, drinking and smoking (all P < .05); the neck circumference was positively correlated with waist circumference, body mass index (BMI), fasting blood glucose, 2hPPG, HbA1c, triacylglycerol and LDL-C (all P < .05), and negatively correlated with HDL-C (P = .014); as the neck circumference increases, the risk of hypertension, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, abdominal obesity, and dyslipidemia increases accordingly (all P < .05); the area under curve (AUC) was 0.827 and 0.812, and the neck circumference of 37.8 and 33.9 cm was the best cut-off point for male and female patients, respectively.Neck circumference is closely related to cardiovascular risk factors in patients with hypertension, which should be promoted in the screening of cardiovascular diseases.

Association between neck circumference and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in Mexican children and adolescents with obesity

Background Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most prevalent chronic hepatic disorder in the pediatric population and has grown along with the obesity pandemic in which we live today. Adipose tissue storage in the upper body segment has been positively correlated with visceral adiposity and metabolic disease, which suggests that neck circumference could represent an easily accessible and replicable anthropometric measurement to identify patients with a higher risk of developing NAFLD. The main purpose of this study is to determine if there is an association between neck circumference and NAFLD. The secondary objectives are to establish cutoff values based on gender and puberty staging. Methods We included a sample pediatric population of 112 patients diagnosed with obesity aged between 6 and 18 years. We performed anthropometric and metabolic measurements on every patient, and NAFLD diagnosis was determined with hepatic ultrasound. Results The neck circumference was larger in NAFLD pediatric patients compared to those without NAFLD (p = 0.001). In a multivariate analysis, the neck circumference was associated with NAFLD as an independent risk factor (odds ratio [OR] = 1.172; 95% CI = 1.008-1.362; p = 0.038). Tanner 2-3 = 35 cm and Tanner 4-5 = 38 cm were established as risk cutoff values to develop NAFLD in the male adolescent population. Conclusions There is an association between the neck circumference and NAFLD in pediatric patients with obesity, particularly in the male population.