The value of wrist circumference for predicting the presence of coronary artery disease and metabolic syndrome

BACKGROUND: Recently, the value of various structural body components have been proposed for predicting cardio-metabolic risk. The present study aimed to assess the wrist circumference (WrC) as an alternative measure for differentiating patients with CAD and METs from those without CAD and METs. METHODS: We studied 228 consecutive subjects who underwent coronary angiography. Those with and without evidence of coronary artery involvement at angiography were considered as the coronary artery disease (CAD) group (n = 139) and the non-CAD group (n = 89), respectively. WrC was measured; and metabolic syndrome (METs) was defined according to the modified National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. RESULTS: WrC was significantly higher in CAD compared to non-CAD patients (17.85 ± 1.29 mm vs 17.43 ± 1.29 mm, P = 0.017). The overall prevalence of METs was significantly different between the CAD and non-CAD subjects (74.3% vs 58.8%, P = 0.016). Although there was a tendency for association, no statistically significant association between the mean of the WrC and the severity of CAD was found (P = 0.065). WrC had a weak positive correlation with triglyceride (r = 0.172, P = 0.011) and cholesterol (r = 0.141, P = 0.038) level and a weak negative association with high-density lipoprotein level (r = −0.279, P < 0.001). In multivariate logistic regression models, WrC could predict neither presence of CAD nor METs. CONCLUSION: Although correlated with METs-type lipid profile, WrC may not be a valuable index for predicting the presence of CAD or METs.