To Establish the Utility of Neck Circumference as a Novel and Simple Risk Marker for Detection of Metabolic Syndrome and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Indians

Introduction: Waist circumference (WC) is used as a measure of metabolic syndrome (MeS); neck circumference (NC) can predict MeS. It is simpler to measure and may provide an indication of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Materials and methods: NC was measured. The mean NC was correlated with the markers of MeS and sleep apnea.

Results: A total of 183 participants were recruited in the study. The average age was 48.13 ± 13.3 years in men and 48.09 ± 11.1 years in women. The mean body mass index (BMI) was 26.42 ± 4.69 kg/m² in men and 28.25 ± 4.92 kg/m² in women. The mean WC in men and women were 91.1 ± 12.92 cm and 90.86 ± 12.7 cm, respectively, while the NC was 38.4 ± 6.60 cm in men and 33.9 ± 2.40 cm in women. MeS was diagnosed in 17.6% of men and 12.7% of women. Sleep apnea was noted in 33.1% of males and 29.2% of females. There was a positive correlation between the NC and systolic blood pressure (SBP) (r = 0.316 in males), fasting blood glucose (FBG) (r = 0.522 in males and 0.263 in females), triglyceride (TG) (r = 0.172 in males; 0.320 in females), while high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) showed a negative correlation in males and females. There was a positive correlation of NC with sleep duration in both males and females (r = 0.346 in males and 0.344 in females). Those with a NC of <35 cm had a sleep score of 7, while those with a NC of >35 cm had a score of 15, showing poor sleep quality.

Conclusion: NC was comparable to WC and waist-hip ratio (WHR) for cardiometabolic risk factors and also showed a good association with sleep apnea.