Neck Circumference Positively Related With Central Obesity, Overweight, and Metabolic Syndrome in Chinese Subjects With Type 2 Diabetes: Beijing Community Diabetes Study 4

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the association between neck circumference and central obesity, overweight, and metabolic syndrome in Chinese individuals with type 2 diabetes.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

A total of 3,182 diabetic subjects (aged 20–80 years) were recruited from 15 community health centers in Beijing using a multistage random sampling approach.

RESULTS

Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that the area under the curve for neck circumference and central obesity was 0.77 for men and 0.75 for women (P < 0.001). Furthermore, a neck circumference of ≥38 cm for men and ≥35 cm for women was the best cutoff point for determining overweight subjects. A neck circumference of ≥39 cm for men and ≥35 cm for women was the best cutoff point to determine subjects with metabolic syndrome.

CONCLUSIONS

In the present study, neck circumference is positively related with BMI, waist circumference, and metabolic syndrome in Chinese individuals with type 2 diabetes.Neck circumference (NC) as an index for upper-body subcutaneous adipose tissue distribution has been evaluated in relation to cardiovascular risk factors, insulin resistance, and biochemical components of metabolic syndrome (MS) (1–4). However, epidemiological population-based studies on the clinical significance of NC in connection with overweight and MS in diabetic people are lacking. The aim of this study was to determine whether NC alone can predict overweight and central obesity and to evaluate the association between NC and MS.