Neck circumference and its association with cardiometabolic risk factors in pediatric population

Abstract

Background and objectives: To identify the relationship between neck circumference (NC) and cardiometabolic risk factors in children. Materials and Methods: Children and adolescents 6–18 years old (n = 548) from five counties of San Luis Potosí, México were included. Data was collected for biological markers (glucose and lipid profile) and anthropometric and clinical measurements— weight, height, NC, waist circumference (WC), and blood pressure (BP). Body mass index (BMI) was calculated using Quetelet formula (kg/m2). Descriptive analysis, correlation tests, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis were performed. Results: NC was highly correlated with BMI and WC in both genders (p <0.0001). The most frequent risk factor was high BMI (38.7%). Sensitivity and specificity analysis of NC and high BMI showed an area under the ROC curve of 0.887. Conclusions: According to our findings, NC is a simple, low-cost, and non-invasive measurement, which has a high association with high BMI and increased WC.