Association of Acute Coronary Syndrome with Waist Hip Ratio in Local Population of Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan

Objective: To determine the frequency and association of waist-hip ratio with acute coronary syndrome in local population of Islamabad, Pakistan. Study Design: Analytical cross-sectional. Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in the department of Cardiology, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad for the duration of six months (December 2014-June 2015). Materials and Methods: A total of 388 patients presented with acute coronary syndrome which included patients with unstable angina, non-ST elevation and ST elevation MI. Non-probability purposive sampling was used for sample selection. After taking informed consent, a self-structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. Waist-hip ratio was assessed using tape measure. Waist circumference was measured between the last rib and iliac crest, whereas the measurement of hip circumference was done at the level of greater trochanters. A waist-hip ratio of >0.85 for females and >0.9 for males was taken as abnormal.Data was analyzed on SPSS Version 17.0. Chi square test was applied to find out the association between waist-hip ratio and other variables whereas p-value of < 0.05 was considered as significant. Results: Out of total 388 acute coronary syndrome patients, 70.9% patients were males and 29.1% were females. The mean age of these patients was 47.5±18.46 years. Out of the total study population, 59.5% patients of ACS had abnormal waist hip ratio (>0.9). Among the patients having abnormal waist hip ratio, 62.9% were males and 51.3% were females. 71.6% patients presented with STEMI, 18.8% with NSTEMI and 9.5% with unstable angina. Chi square test depicted non-significant association of waist-hip ratio with ACS (p>0.05). A significant association was found between WHR and gender (p<0.05). Conclusion: There is no significant association between waist-hip ratio and acute coronary syndrome. The frequency of acute coronary syndrome is highest among males, with maximum prevalence of STEMI, followed by NSTEMI and unstable angina.