The Importance of Waist Circumference and BMI for Mortality Risk in Diabetic Adults

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine the associations of waist circumference (WC) and BMI with all-cause mortality among patients with diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The sample included 847 white and 553 African American patients (18–69 years of age) with diabetes. Height, weight, and WC were measured, and the BMI (kg/m(2)) was calculated. Cox regression was used to analyze the associations of BMI and WC with mortality, adjusting for age, sex, race, examination year, smoking status, alcohol consumption, and physical activity. Hazard ratios (HRs) are expressed per standard deviation of each independent variable. RESULTS: A total of 86 deaths occurred during 6.7 years of follow-up. After adjustment for covariates, WC (HR 1.40 [95% CI 1.14–1.72]) and BMI (1.29 [1.04–1.61]) demonstrated significant relationships with mortality. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that maintaining a healthy WC and BMI are both important for individuals living with diabetes.