PPubMed22 Oct 2025Cited 1×

Association of Neck Circumference With Cardiometabolic Risk Factors and Diseases in the German National Cohort

Eike A Strathmann, Ilka Ratjen, Klara Willrodt, Janna Enderle, Sabrina Schlesinger, Beate Fischer, Katharina S Weber, Cara Övermöhle, Karin H Greiser, Anja M Sedlmeier, Margit Heier, Anna Köttgen, Kathrin Günther, Matthias Nauck, Wolfgang Lieb

Abstract

In our sample, in age- and sex-adjusted and in multivariable-adjusted models, NC was associated with prevalent diabetes, heart failure, and gout. However, no clear association of NC with a composite end point “clinical CVD” was found in fully adjusted statistical models. These observations are consistent with analyses in the San Juan Overweight Adults Longitudinal Study cohort . In the Framingham Offspring cohort, NC was associated with incident type 2 diabetes, even after adjustment for BMI, and also led to an improvement in model performance measures . In our sample, a combined end point “cl

A figure from Association of Neck Circumference With Cardiometabolic Risk Factors and Diseases in the German National Cohort — fig. from the paper

§ The Valyu brief

The paper, in five minutes

Read from the full text via Valyu Contents

Neck circumference is linked to several cardiometabolic risk factors and diseases, suggesting it could serve as a simple surrogate marker.

What’s new

i.Showed neck circumference is positively associated with multiple cardiometabolic risk markers (blood pressure, glucose, VAT, etc.).
ii.Demonstrated significant associations between neck circumference and self‑reported diabetes, heart failure, and gout.
iii.Provided evidence that neck circumference may be a useful surrogate marker for cardiometabolic risk.
iv.Validated the reliability of neck circumference measurements (ICC ≈ 0.90).
v.Analyzed a large, population‑based sample (5865 participants) from the German National Cohort.

How they did it

Neck circumference was measured in 5865 participants of the German National Cohort using a standardized tape method. Linear and logistic regression models adjusted for age, sex, cardiovascular risk factors, and BMI were used to assess associations with anthropometric traits, cardiometabolic markers, and self‑reported diseases.

What they found

Mean neck circumference: 39.5 ± 3.0 cm in men, 33.6 ± 2.7 cm in women.
Positive association with visceral adipose tissue (β = 1.45 [0.88‑2.02]).
Positive association with systolic BP (β = 0.37 [0.19‑0.56]) and diastolic BP (β = 0.17 [0.05‑0.29]).
Positive association with HbA1c (β = 0.02 [0.01‑0.02]) and non‑fasting glucose (β = 0.57 [0.31‑0.83]).
Inverse association with HDL cholesterol (β = ‑0.73 [‑0.91;‑0.54]).
Odds ratio for diabetes per cm increase in neck circumference: 1.08 (1.02‑1.15).
Odds ratio for heart failure: 1.12 (1.02‑1.23).
Odds ratio for gout: 1.09 (1.01‑1.17).
Association with composite clinical CVD lost significance after BMI adjustment.
Inter‑rater reliability ICC for neck circumference measurement: 0.904 (P = 0.002).

Caveats

✕Association with composite clinical CVD was not statistically significant after adjusting for BMI.
✕Small numbers of individual cardiovascular events required combining them into a composite endpoint.

§ The Valyu brief

Reading the full paper and taking notes. This takes a few seconds…

§ Ask this paper

Ask a question about this paper

Valyu reads the full text and answers from what the paper actually says.

§ Related work in other archives

Association of Neck Circumference With Cardiometabolic Risk Factors and Diseases in the German National Cohort

The paper, in five minutes

Ask a question about this paper

Similar papers in all four archives

Similar papers in all four archives

The paper, in five minutes