Measurements of Abdominal Obesity are Associated with Metabolic Syndrome Severity Independent of Hypertensive Phenotype in White but not Black Young Adults

This study sought to determine if metabolic syndrome severity (MetS_index) was differentially associated with abdominal obesity based on waist circumference (WC) site and the presentation of hypertensive phenotypes in a group of young White and Black adults.

A total of 139 young adult (22.5 ± 3.3 years) non-Hispanic White (n = 73) and non-Hispanic Black (n = 66) males and females (M 53, 86 F) completed this cross-sectional evaluation. Participants had their WC measured at three distinct locations along the abdomen which were used to calculate waist-to-hip and waist-to-height ratios. Systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were collected and used to calculate mean arterial pressure (MAP). In addition to traditional metabolic syndrome (MetS) risk factors, BP values were individually used to produce three separate MetS_index scores representing three specific hypertensive phenotypes (MetS_SBP, MetS_DBP, MetS_MAP), and each of these were evaluated against each abdominal obesity estimate.

MetS_DBP and MetS_SBP were significantly higher than all other indices for females (all p ≤ 0.002) and males (all p < 0.001), respectively. MetS_DBP was significantly higher than MetS_MAP for White females (p = 0.039), and MetS_SBP was significantly higher than MetS_DBP and MetS_MAP (both p < 0.001) for Black males. Standalone and joint estimates of abdominal obesity were uniquely associated with MetS_index across hypertensive phenotypes for White, but not Black males and females.

Specific hypertensive phenotypes may differentially determine MetS_index, but these estimates are not associated with abdominal obesity in young Black adults regardless of measurement location. Healthcare professionals should address this disparity by providing more comprehensive MetS screening procedures for young Black adults.

NCT05885672