Body Composition and Mortality in Mexican-American Adults: Results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

OBJECTIVE: Epidemiologic analyses indicate a lack of association between body mass index (BMI: kg/m(2)) and mortality among Hispanic adults. Because BMI provides only a surrogate for the real variable of interest (adiposity), we evaluated associations between measures of body composition and mortality. METHODS: Using data from US-residing Mexican-Americans in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III (n=4,480) and NHANES 1999–2010 (n=5,849), we examined the association between seven measures of body composition measured via anthropometry and bio-electrical impedance analysis (i.e., waist circumference, waist-to-height ratios (WHtR), skinfolds, lean mass, fat mass, percent body fat and BMI) and all-cause and cardiovascular and diabetes mortality. We conducted additional analyses stratified by gender. RESULTS: Waist circumference (hazard ratio [HR] 1.04, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.01, 1.07) and WHtR (HR: 1.08, 95% CI: 1.03–1.14) were weakly associated with an increased all-cause mortality, while WHtR was associated with an increased risk of diabetes-related death (HR: 1.26, 95% CI: 1.07–1.49). In gender stratified analyses, we observed increases in risk of mortality in females who had increases in WHtR and waist circumference for all-cause mortality and cardiovascular deaths. CONCLUSION: Waist circumference and WHtR were associated with increased risk of all-cause and diabetes-related mortality in US-residing Mexican-American adults.