Neck Circumference and Cardio-Metabolic Risk in Normal Exercise Capacity Perimenopausal/Menopausal Women
Pattama Tongdee MD*, Porntip Nimkuntod MD**
Affiliation : * School of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Institute of Medicine, Suranaree University of Technology, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand ** School of Internal Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Suranaree University of Technology, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand
Background : Screening tools that include additional biomarkers may yield better predictive value for hypertension, impaired
glucose tolerance, and other cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and help identify those individuals who may benefit
from more in-depth assessment. Neck circumference (NC) is a simple screening measure for identifying cardio-metabolic risk
in perimenopausal and menopausal women.
Objective : To determine whether a single measure of NC might be used to identify cardio-metabolic risk. NC for comparing
with existing traditional anthropometric parameters such as body mass index (BMI) and waist-hip ratio (WHR).
Material and Method: The cross-sectional study with 76 perimenopausal and menopausal participants aged 40 to 70 years
were recruited from Suranaree University of Technology Hospital between September 2015 and February 2016. Anthropometric
indices, biochemical laboratory, and clinical parameters were measured. The NC of larger than 35 cm parameters was the
cut-off in normal NC in women. All participants did exercise stress test.
Results : Seventy-six perimenopausal/menopausal women were included in this study. The NC was positively correlated with
weight, BMI, and waist circumference (WC) (r = 0.72, 0.72 and 0.65 respectively, all p<0.01) and negatively correlated with
high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (r = -0.44, p<0.01). Other laboratory parameters such as fasting blood sugar
(FBS) (r = 0.23, p = 0.04) and triglyceride (TG) (r = 0.31, p<0.01) were also positively correlated.
Conclusion : NC measurement is a simple and a time saving screening measure that can be used to identify cardio-metabolic
risk associated with simple anthropometric parameters such as BMI, WC, FBS, TG, and HDL-C. Participants with NC equal
or greater than 35 cm were correlated with higher weight, BMI, and WC in normal exercise capacity perimenopausal/
menopausal women.
Keywords : Neck circumference, Anthropometry, Cardio-metabolic risk, Exercise capacity, Perimenopausal women, Menopausal women
