Cross-sectional Associations between Anthropometric Measures and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors Among Young Children

<b>Purpose:</b> Associations between anthropometry and child cardiometabolic risk (CMR) are understudied. We investigated cross-sectional associations between body mass index (BMI) z-score, waist circumference (WC), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), blood pressure (BP), and serum biomarkers (triglycerides, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), total cholesterol:HDL-cholesterol, C-reactive protein, glucose, insulin, and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c)) among young children in the Guelph Family Health Study.<b>Methods:</b> This study included 210 children (1.5-6.2 years, from 171 families). Blood samples were provided by 46 of the participating children. BP and anthropometry were measured during a health assessment visit. Generalized estimating equations applied to regression models were used to determine associations between anthropometric measures and CMR factors, while controlling for relevant covariates.<b>Results:</b> WHtR was positively associated with diastolic BP ([Formula: see text] = 5.73; 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.12, 10.3)) and glucose ([Formula: see text] = 0.50; 95% CI (0.21, 0.79)), total cholesterol ([Formula: see text] = 0.87; 95% CI (0.02, 1.73)) and negatively associated with insulin ([Formula: see text] = -0.01; 95% CI (-18.6, 2.54)). BMI z-score was negatively associated with HbA1c ([Formula: see text] = -0.13; 95% CI (-0.23, -0.04)), and WC was positively associated with HDL-C ([Formula: see text] = 0.04; 95% CI (0.00, 0.08)). No other associations were significant.<b>Conclusions:</b> WHtR, more so than BMI z-score or WC, may show promise as a noninvasive screening tool for lipid- and/or BP-related risk in early childhood.