The Association of Waist to Height Ratio and Resting Heart Rate with Cardio-metabolic Risk Factors in Korean Postmenopausal Women

한국 폐경 여성의 허리둘레/신장비 및 안정시 심박수와 심혈관-대사 위험요인과의 상관성

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the association of waist to height ratio (WHtR) and resting heart rate (RHR) with cardio-metabolic risk factors among Korean postmenopausal women. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis was performed using the 2015 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The analysis included a total of 1,540 postmenopausal women. RESULTS: Individuals with higher WHtR (>0.56) showed significantly higher glucose, triglyceride, insulin, Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), total cholesterol, systolic and diastolic blood pressure compared with ones with lower WHtR (≤0.51). Similar findings were found in those with higher RHR (≥90 bpm) compared with ones with lower RHR (<60 bpm) for glucose and HOMA-IR. When determining the combined effects of WHtR and RHR on the prevalence of metabolic syndrome, individual with WHtR above 0.5 and RHR above 80 bpm showed 10.39 times higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome compared with those with WHtR below 0.5 and RHR below 70 bpm. We further performed multiple linear regression analysis to understand how WHtR and RHR contribute to fasting glucose, and found that both WHtR and RHR contribute to fasting glucose levels independent of age, education level, marital status and income level. CONCLUSIONS: The current study showed that the WHtR and RHR are associated with cardio-metabolic risk factor and prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Korean postmenopausal women.