Abstract

Introduction: Neck circumference (NC) has been proposed as an alternative anthropometric measure for assessing overweight and obesity. Its clinical utility is based on the association between cervical adiposity and various cardiometabolic disorders. The objective of this study was to determine cutoff points for CC to identify the risk of metabolic syndrome (MS) in Chilean schoolchildren and adolescents. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of 1,132 schoolchildren and adolescents aged 6 to 17 years, belonging to educational establishments in the Araucan & iacute;a region. The diagnosis of MS was established according to Cook criteria. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to evaluate the relationship between NC and the components of MS. In addition, ROC curves were used to determine cutoff points, and odds ratio (OR) analyses were performed to estimate the risk of MS associated with elevated NC values. Results: NC showed statistically significant correlations with all MS indicators. The NC cutoff points for identifying MS ranged from >= 28.8 cm to >= 38.3 cm for boys and >= 27.2 cm to >= 36.9 cm for girls. A NC above the cutoff point was significantly associated with the presence of MS (OR: 16.0; 95 degrees%o CI: 10.7-23.9). Conclusion: NC is a noninvasive, rapid, and inexpensive tool for detecting cardiometabolic risk in Chilean children and adolescents and represents a useful alternative to other traditional anthropometric measurements.