Neck circumference as an effective measure for identifying cardio-metabolic syndrome: a comparison with waist circumference

Neck circumference is a new anthropometric index for estimating obesity. We aimed to determine the relationship between neck circumference and body fat content and distribution as well as the efficacy of neck circumference for identifying visceral adiposity and metabolic disorders. A total of 1943 subjects (783 men, 1160 women) with a mean age of 58 +/- 7 years were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the standard in the 2013 China Guideline. Analyses were conducted to determine optimal neck circumference cutoff points for visceral adiposity quantified by magnetic resonance imaging, and to compare the performance of neck circumference with that of waist circumference in identifying abdominal obesity and metabolic disorders. Visceral fat content was independently correlated with neck circumference. Receiver operating characteristic curves showed that the area under the curve for the ability of neck circumference to determine visceral adiposity was 0.781 for men and 0.777 for women. Moreover, in men a neck circumference value of 38.5 cm had a sensitivity of 56.1 % and specificity of 83.5 %, and in women, a neck circumference value of 34.5 cm had a sensitivity of 58.1 % and specificity of 82.5 %. These values were the optimal cutoffs for identifying visceral obesity. There were no statistically significant differences between the proportions of metabolic syndrome and its components identified by an increased neck circumference and waist circumference. Neck circumference has the same power as waist circumference for identifying metabolic disorders in a Chinese population.