PREDICTION OF CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTORS IN FEMALES BY SERUM LEVEL OF TRIGLYCERIDES AND WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE (TEHRAN LIPID AND GLUCOSE STUDY)

Risk factors of cardiovascular disorders have been the subject of several studies. Recently, simultaneous high waist circumference (WC) and high serum triglyceride (Tg) has been proposed as a simple screening measure to predict non-traditional risk factors. This study has looked at the risk factors of cardiovascular disorders present in subjects with this phenotype. Non diabetic females of age 18-65 years who had been enrolled in the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study (TLGS) were recruited. Based on fasting Tg and WC, subjects fell into four categories: TgHWH (Tg>160 mg/dl, WC>80 cm), TgHWL (Tg>160 mg/dl,WC<80 cm), TgLWH(Tg<160 mg/dl,WC>80 cm) and TgLWL (Tg<160 mg/dl,WC<80 cm). Cardiovascular risk factors including lipid profiles and anthropometric variables were compared between the categories. The prevalence of hypertension, LDL-C>130 mg/dl, total cholesterol>220 mg/dl and HDL- C<45 mg/dl were also determined in each category. 5630 subjects were studied. TgLWL and TgHWH constituted to 27.5 % and 31.9 % of subjects, respectively. Mean age of subjects dropping in TgLWL, TgLWH, TgHWL and TgHWH groups was 28±10, 39±12, 36+12 and 46±11, respectively and TgHWH subjects were significantly older than other groups (p<.001). Systolic and diastolic blood pressures, body mass index and WC were significantly higher in TgHWH. Significantly higher levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL-C and significantly lower level of HDL-C were found in the TgHWH group. The prevalence of subjects with four or more risk factors was 61.4% in TgHWH versus 1% in TgLWL group. Parallel high waist circumference and high serum triglycerides (TgHWH) can find use as a simple screening measure to predict other risk factors of cardiovascular disorders.