HIP CIRCUMFERENCE AND WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE AS A MEASUREMENT OF RISK FOR TYPE II DIABETES IN MEXICAN AND MEXICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN

Purpose: It is well documented that Hispanics have higher rates of Diabetes type 2 in comparison to other races. This paper will examine data on child study participant's waist circumference and hip circumference and the relation to being at higher risk of developing type 2 Diabetes and Depression. Most studies have found girls age 10 to 14 to have average waist measurements ranging from 62.8 cm to 70.6 cm and boys ages 10 to 14 to have measurements ranging from 63.3 cm to 70.6 cm. Our study population of children in the same age range has an average waist measurement of 83.34 cm, well above both of the averages. Methods: Data from 47 Mexican and Mexican-American children, ages 10 to 14 were collected. Of those that participated, 27 (57.4%) were female and 20 (42.6%) were male. Statistical analysis was conducted in SPSS and SAS software programs to obtain chi-square analysis, descriptive statistics and logistic regression. Child Depression Inventory (CDI) measurements were used to test the levels of depression of the child. Both children and parents completed CDI surveys and both were used for descriptive analysis in this study. Dependent variables examined are high risk and low risk of diabetes and CDI indicators. Independent variables examined were that of CDI indicators, and waist and hip circumference. Results: Of those children that participated, 36.2% are at high risk for developing Diabetes Mellitus based on participants meeting 3 to 5 of the criterion. Additionally, 10.6% have a glucose level in the pre-diabetic range. The CDI results on the child survey were 14.9% of children scored above high average, with 4.2% above the elevated range. The parent CDI results were similar with 17.0% of parents scoring their children above the high average range. Using logistic regression, waist circumference was found to be a significant indicator of High risk for diabetes with an odds ratio of .013. The 95% confidence intervals support this find with a lower limit of .685 and an upper limit of .957. Confounding will be examined to address why the odds ratio for waist circumference is inverse of the expected outcome. Conclusions: Waist circumference is a predictor of high risk status of developing Diabetes Type 2 among this population of participants. It should be noted that caution should be taken when interpreting the results so as to avoid bias. The participants in this study may have chosen to participate because they perceived themselves to be at greater risk than others.