Association Between Hypertriglyceridemic Waist Phenotype and Increased Urinary Albumin–Creatinine Ratio in Chinese Adults: The REACTION Study

PURPOSE: The hypertriglyceridemic waist (HTGW) phenotype can predict cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Additionally, strong evidence indicates that elevated urinary albumin–creatinine ratio (UACR) is associated with increased prevalence of CVD. However, few studies have explored the association between the HTGW phenotype and UACR. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, a total of 40,674 subjects (28,562 women and 12,112 men older than 40 years) were recruited from seven different geographic regional centres. The HTGW phenotype was defined as increased triglyceride levels (triglyceride ≥ 1.5 mmol/L for female and ≥2.0 mmol/L for male) and waist circumference (WC; WC ≥ 85 for female and WC ≥ 90 cm for male). Logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the relationship between UACR and the HTGW phenotype. RESULTS: Subjects with the HTGW phenotype showed a more significant trend towards increased excretion of UACR [among all subjects, odds ratio (OR) = 1.303, 95% CI: 1.132–1.499, P < 0.001; among men, OR = 1.406, 95% CI: 1.057–1.870, P = 0.019; among women, OR = 1.268, 95% CI: 1.074–1.496, P = 0.005]. Furthermore, the stratified analysis showed that the OR for high-risk significantly increased in individuals in the HTGW group aged below 65 years, with 5.6 ≤ fasting blood glucose < 7.0 or 7.8 ≤ post-load blood glucose <11.1 mmol/L, 120 ≤ systolic blood pressure < 140 or 80 ≤ diastolic blood pressure < 90, 24 ≤ body mass index < 28 kg/m(2), and estimated globular filtration rate > 90 mL/min per 1.73 m(2). CONCLUSION: This study has advanced the understanding of visceral obesity and our results supported the fact that the HTGW phenotype is associated with elevated UACR excretion among general Chinese adults.