Value of the waist to height ratio in the prediction of metabolic syndrome in population of Thua Thien Hue province

Background: Determining the value of some predictive indices of metabolic syndrome, especially in terms of simple indices, easy implementation, non-invasive, cheap price and effectiveness, is to allow people to easily get access to those tests, simultaneously doctors at the grassroot levels can apply and implement to save costs for local people. Objectives: This study aims to identify the ability of the waist to height ratio for the identification of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in the population of Thua Thien Hue Province. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out with 1600 people over 25 years olds that chosen from Thua Thien Hue Province by a random sampling procedure. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the IDF, NHLBI, AHA, WHF, IAS and IASO (2009). Receiver operator curve (ROC) analyses were used to identify the best predictor of MetS. Results: The ROC analysis revealed that had good values for predicting MetS in the Thua Thien Hue province population (the ROC curves (AUCs) > 0.8, p < 0.05). The optimal cut off values for WHtR for predicting MetS were > 0.54 for men (AUC= 0.82, sensitivity = 69.3% and specificity = 83.4%) and > 0.51 for women (AUC= 0.85, sensitivity = 76.1% and specificity = 78.8%). Conclusions: The waist to height ratio had good values for predicting MetS in population of Thua Thien Hue Province. We propose the optimal cut off point of WHtR for the best predictor of MetS as > 0.54 in men and > 0.51 in women. Key words: prediction, the waist to height ratio