Best anthropometric predictors of fasting blood sugar, prediabetes, and diabetes

Background: The association between obesity and type 2 diabetes is well-known. The measure of obesity that best predicts fasting blood sugar levels remains a subject of debate. The objective of the study was to determine the best anthropometric predictor of FBS, prediabetes, and diabetes among apparently healthy bank workers in Nigeria. Methods: This study analyzed dataset of a cross-sectional survey of apparently healthy 1191 bank workers in 18 state capitals across the six geopolitical regions of Nigeria. The dataset was processed and analyzed with SPSS. Correlation and discriminant analysis were performed to determine the best anthropometric predictors of FBS, prediabetes, and diabetes. Results: The 1191 subjects were aged 22-59 years old, 80.2% were males, and 19.8% females. The average FBS was 5.2 ± 1.2 mmol/l, BMI 26.7 ± 4.6 kg/m 2 , WC 80.1 ± 25.1 cm, HC 88.9 ± 26.7 cm, WHR 0.9 ± 0.09, and WHtR 0.47 ± 0.15. The prevalence of diabetes was 4%, prediabetes 7%, overweight 42%, and obesity 23%. The best anthropometric predictor of FBS was WC (r=0.231, p<0.0001), while the best predictor of diabetes was WHR (AUC 0.64, 95% CI 0.55-0.73) and HC for prediabetes (AUC 0.64, 95% CI 0.58-0.69). The best predictors of all the three outcomes combined were WC and WHtR at cut-off values of 87 cm and 0.5 in both sexes. Conclusions: Both WC and WHtR at cut-off values of 87 cm and 0.5 are appropriate as discriminative anthropometric indices for both prediabetes and diabetes in both sexes. The finding of HC as the best predictor of prediabetes calls for further research in this direction.