Association between neck circumference and risk factors of cardiovascular disease among Uygur, Kazak, Mongolian and Han populations in Boertala regions of Xinjiang

Objective To determine the relationship between neck circumference (NC) and cardiovascular risk factors among Uygur, Kazak, Mongolian and Han populations in Boertala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture of Xinjiang. Methods A total of 4299 adults (Uygur 1237, Kazak 1047, Mongolian 812, and Han 1203) aged 20 to 79 years old were selected from a cross-sectional study of metabolic syndrome in Boertala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture of Xinjiang.Pearson's correlation was used to assess the relationship between NC and body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ration (WHR), systolic blood pressur (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), fasting blood glucose (FBG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and triglyceride (TG). Linear regression and Logistic regression were used to evaluate the effects of NC on SBP, DBP, FBG, TC, LDL-C, HDL-C, TG, hypertension, high FBG and lipid disorders among multiethnic population. Results Mean NC was (36.2±3.8) cm in Uygur, (36.3±4.1) cm in Kazak, (35.9±3.6) cm in Mongolian and (35.7±4.0) cm in Han, respectively.After adjusting age and gender, in Pearson's correlation coefficients, a significant association was found between NC and BMI (for Uygur, Kazak, Mongolian and Han, r values were 0.552, 0.499, 0.709 and 0.459, respectively; all P<0.05) or WC (for Uygur, Kazak, Mongolian and Han, r values were 0.525, 0.479, 0.695 and 0.376, respectively; all P<0.05). When BMI, WC and other factors were adjusted, linear regression indicated that FBG in Uygur (t=3.746, P<0.05) and LogTG in Mongolian (t=2.876 P<0.05) were increased with NC.In Logistic regression, increased NC was a risk factor of higher FBG in Uygur (odds ratio (OR)=1.139, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.027-1.264) and lipid disorder in Mongolian (OR=1.156, 95% CI: 1.009-1.325). Conclusions Our data suggest that NC may be associated with multiple risk factors of cardiovascular disease in Uygur, Kazak, Mongolian and Han adults, and the relationship could be different among multiethnic populations.It should be necessary to explore the role of upper-body fat in the development of metabolic disorders. Key words: Cardiovascular diseases; Minority groups; Logistic models