Neck circumference is associated with non-traditional cardiovascular risk factors in individuals at low-to-moderate cardiovascular risk: cross-sectional analysis of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil)

BACKGROUND: Neck circumference (NC) is associated with traditional cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF), but its usefulness to identify earlier atherogenic risk has been scarcely examined. Associations of NC with non-traditional CVRF were investigated in participants at low-to-moderate risk from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil). METHODS: 807 individuals (35–54 years) without obesity, diabetes or cardiovascular disease was stratified into quartiles of NC (cut-off for men: 36.5; 37.9 and 39.5 cm; women: 31.4; 32.5 and 34 cm) and traditional and non-traditional risk factors (lipoprotein subfractions by Vertical Auto Profile, adiponectin, leptin, E-selectin) were compared across groups. In linear regression models, associations of NC with non-traditional risk factors were tested for the entire sample and for low-risk group (≤ 2 CVRF). RESULTS: In both sexes, BMI, waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting and 2-h plasma glucose, HOMA-IR, triglycerides, leptin, E-selectin, small dense LDL-cholesterol, IDL-cholesterol, VLDL(3)-cholesterol and TG/HDL ratio increased significantly, while HDL(2)-cholesterol and HDL(3)-cholesterol decreased across NC quartiles. In linear regression models, a direct association [β(95% CI)] of NC with leptin [(0.155 (0.068–0.242); 0.147 (0.075–0.220)], E-selectin [(0.105 (0.032–0.177); 0.073 (0.006 to 0.140)] and small-dense LDL [(1.866 (0.641–3.091); 2.372 (1.391–3.353)] and an inverse association with HDL(2)-cholesterol [(− 0.519 (− 0.773 to − 0.266); − 0.815 (− 1.115 to 0.515)] adjusted for age were detected for men and women, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that measurement of NC may be useful for an earlier identification of unfavorable atherogenic metabolic profile in middle-aged individuals at lower cardiovascular risk level.