The Effect of Waist Circumference/Chest Circumference Ratio on Mortality in Intensive Care Units

Abstract

Objective: Abdominal obesity causes many health problems such as cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders. Body mass index (BMI) does not give us information about body fat distribution. Waist circumference measurements demonstrate abdominal obesity more accurately. Therefore, we think that it will be more accurate to use waist circumference in intensive care scoring systems in predicting mortality. Material and Method: In this study we investigated the patients' ages, BMIs, waist circumference, chest circumference , waist circumference/chest circumference ratio, APACHE 2 scores, SOFA scores, duration of mechanical ventilation and length of stay in ICU. We searched the effects of waist circumference/chest circumference ratio on mortality, and whether this ratio is more sensitive than body mass index by itself in determining mortality and its relationship between length of stay in ICU and duration of mechanical ventilation. Results: We found no statistically significant difference between waist circumference, chest circumference and mortality. Similarly, there was not a significant difference between BMI and mortality. Conclusion: We think that we need large, multi-centered studies to be able to determine the exact relationship between waist circumference and mortality in ICU.