Anthropometric indicators of obesity as predictors of cardiovascular risk in the elderly.

BACKGROUND Various anthropometric indicators can be used as predictors of cardiovascular risk in the elderly. OBJECTIVE Evaluate the predictive capacity of anthropometric measurements in identifying cardiovascular risk in elderly patients at the Family Health Strategy of Viçosa-MG. METHODOLOGY This was a cross-sectional epidemiological study with 349 elderly persons. Cardiovascular risk was calculated using the ratio of triglyceride levels with HDL-cholesterol (TG/HDL-c) levels. The anthropometric variables measured were waist circumference, body mass index, waist-to-height ratio, and conicity index. A biochemical assessment of triglycerides and HDL-cholesterol was performed. The anthropometric measurements were also related to cardiovascular risk using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves. RESULTS The observed results suggest that all these anthropometric indexes can be used to predict cardiovascular risk in males. However, in females, only BMI showed predictive capacity. The cutoff points identified appeared very close to the cutoffs recommended and recognized in other studies, with the exception of waist circumference measured at the midpoint between the last rib and the iliac crest, which showed a considerable difference. CONCLUSION All anthropometric indices can be used to predict cardiovascular risk in males and females. Waist circumference at the midpoint between the last rib and the iliac crest was the best anthropometric measure to predict cardiovascular risk in males and smaller waist circumference and waist-height were the best anthropometric measures in females.