CUT-OFF VALUES OF BODY FAT PERCENTAGE AND INSULIN FOR PREDICTING LOW ADIPONECTIN / LEPTIN RATIO

This study aims to establish a reliable parameter and its optimal cut-off point for accurately estimating adipose tissue dysfunctionality in apparently healthy, but abdominally obese subjects.Materials and methods: The 104 subjects included in the study, all with no prior chronic diseases, underwent biochemical (TG, HDL-c, glucose, insulin, adiponectin, leptin) and anthropometric measurements (waist circumference, height, adipose tissue percentage).A ROC curve was performed to assess the overall performance of these parameters to determine the dysfunctionality of the adipocytes, as a ssessed by adiponectin: leptin ratio (ALR) lower than 0.5.Logistic regression identified models that included 2 or 3 parameters to further increase the accuracy.The software Excel and SPSS were used for the statistical analysis.Results: From all individual parameters, trunk adipose tissue percentage had an AUC value of 0.812, suggesting a high accuracy for predicting a value of ALR<0.5.The optimal cut-off point for trunk adipose tissue percentage was established at 42.45% with a sensitivity of 0.725 and a specificity of 0.766.A higher AUC (0.857) was observed for the model that included whole-body adipose tissue (cut-off 41.7%) and insulin (cutoff 14.6 U/mL), while the highest accuracy (AUC=0.889)was reported in the model for metabolically unhealthy non-obese subjects.Conclusions: Apparently healthy individuals, but abdominally obese, report adipocyte dysfunctionality together with high cardiometabolic risk at values for trunk adipose tissue percentage surpassing 42.45%, or combined values of 41.7% for whole-body adipose tissue and 14.6 U/mL for insulin.