Predictive value of arm circumference (AC) and arm muscle circumference (AMC) with cardiovascular risk in healthy and diabetic males

S.S. Habib, T. Al-khlaiwi, S.M. Habib, H. Al-khliwi, M.B. AbaAlkhail, N.A. Albuhayjan, N. Aljawini

Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. shahidhabib44@hotmail.com

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• Cardiology
• Diabetes
• Obesity

OBJECTIVE: The predictive value of body simplified indices needs to be evaluated properly for cardiovascular risk. This study aimed to assess and compare the relative relationship of arm circumference (AC), arm muscle circumference (AMC), body mass index (BMI), and waist-hip ratio (WHR) with Ultra-Sensitive C-Reactive Protein (US-CRP) in healthy male subjects and with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed the study at the department of Physiology, College of Medicine & King Khalid University Hospital, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was a cross-sectional study with 93 healthy male subjects and 112 type 2 diabetic male patients who underwent body composition analysis by BIA and fasting venous blood samples were collected. US-CRP and body composition were determined for all subjects.

RESULTS: US-CRP is correlated positively with AC (0.378) and BMI (0.394) more than AMC (0.282) and WHR (0.253) which have lower correlation both in control and DM group. BCM has the lowest correlation with US-CRP (0.105). The association between US-CRP and AC, AMC, Body Fat Percent (BFP), and body fat mass (BFM) are statistically significant except for BFP in DM group. In control group, AC is noticed to be a better predictor for US-CRP, with area under curve (AUC) 64.2% (p=0.019), WHR with AUC 72.6% (p<0.001), and BMI with AUC 65.4% (p=0.011) but AMC is not a good predictor in control group with AUC 57.5% (p=0.213). In DM group, AC is noticed to be a better predictor for US-CRP, with AUC 71.5% (p<0.001), WHR with AUC 67.4% (p=0.004), BMI with AUC 70.9% (p=0.001), and AMC with AUC 65.2% (p=0.011).

CONCLUSIONS: Simplified muscle mass body indices like AC and AMC have significant predictive value for assessing cardiovascular risk in both healthy population and patients with T2DM. Therefore, AC could be used as a future predictor for cardiovascular disease in healthy and DM patients. Further investigations are needed to confirm its applicability.

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