Conicity Index an Anthropometric Predictor of Diabetes and Cardiovascular Diseases Amongst Young Adults

Measurement of an individual's anthropometric indices is one of the many methods for determining physical health status; others include measurement of biochemical markers and clinical indices. Little information is known about the relationship between conicity index in predicting diseases. The study was aimed at finding the association between conicity index, biochemical and clinical indices in predicting disease conditions. This study was carried out on 87 undergraduates of Edo State University, Uzairue with 44 of them being males and 43 of them being females. The Socio-demographic data were collected using a structured questionnaire, and the anthropometric indices, biochemical and clinical indices were measured. There was a statistically significant difference in the comparison of male and female respondents in their weight, height, waist circumference, fat, visceral fat, water and muscles at (p < 0.05). Conicity Index (CI) was statistically significant and positively correlated with obesity, muscle and diastolic blood pressure at (p < 0.01), positively correlated with systolic blood pressure and visceral fat (p <0.05) and a correlation with blood glucose and cholesterol level. The results of the study showed that Conicity Index had a correlation with clinical and biochemical indices. This makes it a factor for predicting cardiovascular disease, hypertension and central obesity and may be a predicting factor for diabetes mellitus and dyslipidaemia.