Association of Neck Circumference with Other Anthropometric Indices and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Healthy Young Adults

Abstract

Objectives: To study the importance of neck circumference (NC) for the early detection of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and to determine the association of NC with other anthropometric parameters and CVD risk factors. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted from July 2018 to June 2019. Total 610 healthy young adults male and females, aged from 18 to 35 years and permanent residents of Shaheed Benazir Abad District of Sindh were randomly selected. Those who had any type of illness, known diabetes and on any medication were excluded from this study. The data including, Socio-demographic, Anthropometric and Biochemical was collected through interview based structured questionnaire which was designed through review of literature of previous studies. Blood pressure was measured by using sphygmomanometer. The blood sample was collected in the morning timings while participants were fasting. The blood sample was analyzed for fasting blood sugar and lipid profile using standard kit methods and according to manufacturer’s instructions. Neck circumference was measured at the upper edge of the thyroid ligament by a non-versatile measuring tape. Consent was obtained before collecting the data, SPSS 18 version was used for the statistical analysis of data. Results: Out of total 610, 313 (51.3%) were male participants and 297 (48.7%) were female participants. In male, NC was positively correlated with SBP (r=0.589), DBP (r=0.586), FBS (r=0.358), TG (r=0.606), LDL (r=0.590) and VLDL (r=0.606), however, NC was negatively correlated with HDL-C (r=-0.434). Similarly, in female, the NC was positively correlated with SBP (r=0.552), DBP (r=0.672), FBS (r=0.437), TG (r=0.610), LDL (r=0.592) and VLDL (r=0.610) and LDL(r=0.590) however, NC was also negatively correlated with HDL-C (r=-0.-526) in females. All other CVD risk factors showed significant association with increased NC in both male and female participants.   Conclusion: Neck circumference is positively correlated with CVD risk factors in both male and female participants, NC is easy and quick to measure and it can be used as an alternative of other anthropometric parameters.