Validity of Anthropometric Cut-Offs for Early Diagnosis of Dyslipidemia Among Ethiopian Adults

INTRODUCTION: Lack of regional- and local-based cut-off points of lipid profile and/or anthropometric measurements remains one of the challenges in prevention, early detection and control of non-communicable diseases. This study aimed to validate anthropometric-based screening of lipid profiles to develop locally appropriate optimal cut-off points for metabolic syndrome screening. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among randomly selected 977 adults in Jimma Town, Ethiopia. Data were collected using structured questionnaire, anthropometric and biochemical measurements. Data were analyzed using SPSS windows version 21 and Kappa statistic was used to validate the agreement between anthropometric measurement and lipid profile. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Body mass index (BMI) at ≥24.5 was used as screening of dyslipidemia (TG≥150mg/dl) with slight Kappa coefficient of 0.138 (P<0.001) among females while it was ≥22.2 among males with fair (0.275) Kappa coefficient (P<0.001). Waist circumference-based screening of dyslipidemia (TG≥150mg/dl) at ≥78.0cm had negative (−0.005) Kappa coefficient (Pp<0.001) among females (sensitivity: 72.6% and specificity: 26.7%). Yet, waist circumference at ≥83.7cm had slight Kappa coefficient of 0.13 (P<0.005) among males (sensitivity: 38% and specificity: 74.9%). Waist hip ratio-based screening of dyslipidemia (TG≥150mg/dl) at ≥0.82 among females had negative (−0.001) Kappa coefficient (p=0.763), whereas among males at ≥0.88, there was a slight (0.105) Kappa coefficient of (p=0.002) (sensitivity:77.5% and specificity:36.8%). This study showed that anthropometric-based high-density lipoprotein measurement was not applicable. CONCLUSION: This study indicated that BMI-based screening of triglyceride was more applicable for both sexes than other anthropometric measurements. Waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio-based screening of triglyceride were slightly applicable only for males. However, anthropometric-based screening of high-density lipoprotein measurement was not applicable for both sexes. In conclusion, researchers and policy makers need to consider locally validated cut-off points to be used for screening metabolic syndrome in the community.