Comparison of Waist Circumference in Type 2 Diabetes and Non-Diabetic Population

Objectives: Diabetes mellitus has a great association with obesity. Obesity is a risk factor for diabetes mellitus. Obesity can be measured clinically with waist circumference (WC), which is an indirect measurement of obesity in humans. The association between WC and plasma glucose in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) was studied in a population in the suburban population of Tamil Nadu. The objectives of this study were to study and compare the WC in diabetic and non-diabetic populations and to study the relation of WC with plasma glucose in T2DM. Materials and Methods: WC, post-prandial plasma glucose (PPPG), and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) were measured for 125 diabetic participants and 120 non-diabetic participants who formed the control group. Results: WC was considerably higher in type 2 diabetes than non-diabetic population. The male T2DM WC was higher compared with the female T2DM. The WC and the plasma glucose across the three BMI groups were statistically different. The WC showed a positive correlation with FPG and PPPG in T2DM. Conclusion: The waist circumference in T2DM was high compared with NDM group. Among T2DM, the plasma glucose was high in participants with higher waist circumference than in participants with WC less than the cut off values. WC can be used as a marker to screen for diabetes and to detect plasma glucose control among different BMI groups in T2DM.