Association between two novel anthropometric measures and type 2 diabetes in a Chinese population

Abstract Aims To investigate the associations of conicity index (C‐index) and relative fat mass (RFM) with incident type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) among adults in China. Materials and Methods A total of 10 813 participants aged over 18 years in Shenzhen Longhua district were enrolled in a follow‐up study conducted from 2018 to 2022. The participants were categorized based on quartiles (Q) of C‐index and RFM. The Cox proportional hazards model was performed to examine the relationships between C‐index, RFM and the risk of T2DM. Results After adjusting for potential confounding factors, including age, sex, occupation, marital status, education level, smoking status, alcohol consumption, physical exercise, hypertension status, fasting blood glucose (FBG) and total cholesterol (TC), both C‐index and RFM showed positive and independent associations with risk of T2DM. The multivariable‐adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) for T2DM risk in participants in C‐index Q3 and Q4 compared with those in C‐index Q1 were 1.50 (1.12, 2.02) and 1.73 (1.29, 2.30), and 1.94 (1.44, 2.63), 3.18 (1.79, 5.64), 4.91 (2.68, 9.00) for participants in RFM Q2, Q3 and Q4 compared with RFM Q1. These differences were statistically significant (all p < 0.05). Conclusion C‐index and RFM are strongly associated with new‐onset T2DM and could be used to identify the risk of diabetes in large‐scale epidemiological studies.