Waist–thigh Ratio: A Surrogate Marker for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Asian North Indian Patients

INTRODUCTION: Diabetes is a major world-wide healthcare problem. Cost effective markers for screening and diagnosis of T2DM are the need of the day especially in developing and under-developed countries. Simple anthropometric measurements may help us in identifying individuals likely to have diabetes. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data from 1055 North-Indian subjects was analysed. RESULTS: Out of several anthropometric measurements studied, Waist-Thigh ratio (WTR) correlated significantly and positively with all three measures of diabetes i.e. FPG, RPG and PPG. (P < .0001) suggesting that it is the best predictor of diabetes. Subjects with diabetes had greater WTR (mean 2.088) than those without (mean1.842). (P < .0001). A thresh-hold effect was evident at a cut-off WTR of 2.3. Out of those subjects who were diagnosed to have diabetes by AACE/AHA guidelines, 82% had WTR greater than this value (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: WTR may prove to be a simple and inexpensive marker for detecting Type 2 diabetes. Larger studies are required to develop population norms.