Objective: To compare the waist circumference cutoff points established by the American Heart Association and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (AHA/NHLBI) with those of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) for the screening of diabetes, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome in Mexican adults.
Material and methods: This study comprised a subsample of the ENSANUT 2006. Subjects without diabetes and hypertension and non-pregnant women were included. Sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values were compared using AUC and the positive likelihood ratio test [LR(+)].
Results: In subjects aged ≥40 years, sensitivity for detection of diabetes and hypertension was higher for the IDF thresholds (85.34 and 86.87%, respectively) compared with those of the AHA/NHLBI (59.49 and 52.41%, respectively). LR(+) were higher for IDF thresholds compared with AHA/NHLBI. Similar results in subjects aged ≥65 years were observed.
Conclusions: The measurement of abdominal obesity defined by the IDF was a better screening tool for diabetes and hypertension, considering that initially a high sensitivity and low cost tool at population level is required.