Predictive capacity of obesity indicators for metabolic syndrome in adult quilombolas (Inhabitants of black communities)

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the predictive capacity of different obesity indicators (OIs) for metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adult quilombolas (inhabitants of black communities). A cross-sectional study involving a representative sample of 850 adult quilombolas (18 to 92 years) living in the geographic micro-re-gion of Guanambi, Bahia, Brazil, was conducted. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed between OI [body fat percentage (BF%), body adiposity index (BAI), and body mass index (BMI)] and MetS. The balance between sensitivity and specificity defined the best predictive cutoff points of OI for MetS. The three OIs were predictors of MetS (significant area under ROC curve > 0.5). Among women, BF% showed a significantly greater area under the ROC curve (0.69, 95% CI: 0.65; 0.73) than the other OIs. Among men, the areas for BF%% and BMI were the same (0.81, 95% CI: 0.76; 0.85) and were greater than that of BAI. The best OI cutoff points to identify the presence of MetS in women and men were, respectively: 24.97 and 25.36 kg/m² for BMI, 34.30 and 26.14% for BAI, and 37.7 and 23.8% for BF%. The OIs tested are valid tools to screen for MetS in adult quilombolas when specific cutoff points for the population studied are used.