Validity of Neck Circumference as One of the Indicators of Metabolic Syndrome in Ain Shams University Hospitals

Abstract

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MS) is defined as a group of coexisting metabolic risk factors, such as central obesity, lipid disorders, carbohydrate disorders, and hypertension Objectives: The study was conducted to determine if neck circumference could be an independent predictor of metabolic syndrome in a sample of Egyptian patients in Ain shams university hospitals and find out the best cut off point for neck circumference that could be used in future screening of metabolic syndrome Subjects and methods: A case control study was carried in Family Medicine clinics on120 who met inclusion criteria. Subjects were divided into two groups 60 Cases and 60 Controls, A lifestyle questionnaire was given Containing questions like personal background , also anthropometric measurements such as weight, height, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and neck circumference were measured Results: There is highly correlation between neck circumference and waist circumference (<0.001), Neck circumference can accurately and significantly differentiate between cases and healthy controls in men with an area under the curve equal 0.976 and the best cut off value for differentiation is 40.5 cm with sensitivity 96.7% and specificity 96.7%, and in females with an area under the curve equal 0.936 and the best cut off value for differentiation is 35.75 cm with sensitivity 96.7% and specificity 83.3%. Conclusion: Neck circumference is a simple and alternative tool to screen persons with metabolic syndrome particularly in a primary care setting. Key words: Neck circumference (NC), Waist circumference (WC), Metabolic syndrome (MS), Obesity, Diabetes mellitus.