Abstract
The objective of this study was to evaluate the predictive capacity of different obesity indicators (OIs) for metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adult quilombolas (inhabitants of black communities). A cross-sectional study involving a representative sample of 850 adult quilombolas (18 to 92 years) living in the geographic micro-region of Guanambi, Bahia, Brazil, was conducted. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed between OI [body fat percentage (BF%), body adiposity index (BAI), and body mass index (BMI)] and MetS. The balance between sensitivity and specificity defined the best predictive cutoff points of OI for MetS. The three OIs were predictors of MetS (significant area under ROC curve > 0.5). Among women, BF% showed a significantly greater area under the ROC curve (0.69, 95% CI: 0.65; 0.73) than the other OIs. Among men, the areas for BF%% and BMI were the same (0.81, 95% CI: 0.76; 0.85) and were greater than that of BAI. The best OI cutoff points to identify the presence of MetS in women and men were, respectively: 24.97 and 25.36 kg/m2 for BMI, 34.30 and 26.14% for BAI, and 37.7 and 23.8% for BF%. The OIs tested are valid tools to screen for MetS in adult quilombolas when specific cutoff points for the population studied are used.
Group with African Continental ancestry; Metabolic syndrome X; Obesity; ROC curve; Cross-sectional studies
