Waist circumference and insulin resistance: a community based cross sectional study on reproductive aged Iranian women

BACKGROUND: Although the positive relationship between insulin resistance (IR) and central obesity is well known, the direct relationship between waist circumference and IR is not clear yet and there is no consensus regarding the cut off value for waist circumference as a surrogate index for central obesity. The present study was aimed to determine the optimal cut-off value of waist circumference (WC) for predicting IR in reproductive aged Iranian women. METHODS: Using the stratified, multistage probability cluster sampling method 1036 women were randomly selected from among reproductive aged women of different geographic regions of Iran. Following implementation of exclusion criteria, complete data for 907 women remained for analysis. Insulin resistance was evaluated by the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR) and its cut off value was defined as the 95th percentile of HOMA-IR value for 129 subjects, without any metabolic abnormality. The optimal cut-off of WC in relation to HOMA-IR was calculated based on the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis using the Youden index and the area under curve (AUC). RESULTS: The mean age of the total sample of 907 subjects was 34.4 ± 7.6 years (range, 18 - 45 years). After adjustment for age the odds ratios (OR) of elevated HOMA-IR were progressively higher with increasing levels of waist circumference; the age adjusted OR of IR for women with WC > 95 cm in comparison to those subjects with WC < 80 cm, was 9.5 (95% CI 5.6-16.1). The optimal cutoff value for WC predicting IR was 88.5 cm; with a sensitivity and specificity of 71% and 64%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Waist circumference is directly related to insulin resistance and the optimal cut-off value for waist circumference reflecting insulin resistance is considered to be 88.5 cm for reproductive aged Iranian women.