Korean J Prev Med.  1999 Sep;32(3):395-399.

A Distribution of Waist-hip Ratio Associated with the Blood Pressure in Middle-aged Men

• Bae JM
• Kim DS
• Kim J
• Ahn YO

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Excess abdominal fat, expressed as an increased ratio of waist to hip circumferences (WHR), is independently associated with higher levels of blood pressure. Although a WHR greater than 1.0 in men has been shown to predict complications from obesity, the WHR has not been evaluated in all ethnic groups.
METHODS
In order to ascertain the association between WHR and classification of blood pressure and to investigate the critical value of WHR as a predictive factor of hypertension in Korean middle-aged men, we compared the mean of WHRs according to the classification of blood pressure in Seoul Cohort participants.
RESULTS
Through a survey of direct measurement of waist and hip girth, 452 subjects were recruited from the cohort. The mean of WHR was 0.88 and its standard deviation was 0.04. The mean of WHRs was higher in the systolic blood pressure group (above 140 mmHg), diastolic blood pressure group (above 90 mmHg), and hypertension group than in the systolic blood pressure group (below 140 mmHg), diastolic blood pressure group (below 90 mmHg), and normotensive group, respectively. And WHR of above 0.89 was associated with hypertension (z-value =6.66).
CONCLUSIONS
It is necessary for Korean males with WHR greater than 0.89 to recommend the primary prevention and early detection of hypertension.

Keyword

Blood pressure; Waist-hip ratio; Seoul cohort

MeSH Terms

Abdominal Fat
Blood Pressure*
Classification
Cohort Studies
Ethnic Groups
Hip
Humans
Hypertension
Male
Obesity
Primary Prevention
Seoul
Waist-Hip Ratio*