Wrist size may predict heart disease risk--study

The researchers found kids with a bigger wrist size had high insulin levels.

Higher levels eventually lead to insulin resistance, which is considered an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease in later life.

Senior author of the study, Dr. Raffaella Buzzetti, professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy stated, "Wrist circumference mirrors insulin resistance levels.”

He added, "One of the major priorities of clinical practice today is the identification of young people at increased risk for insulin resistance. This is a very, very strong link.”

Study details
In order to determine whether wrist size can help identify children at risk for diabetes and heart disease, the researchers conducted a study.

They enrolled 477 overweight and obese kids with a median age of 10 years living in Italy.

For the purpose of the study, the participants got their wrist circumference measured with a cloth tape. Also 51 kids underwent nuclear magnetic resonance imaging to distinguish the wrist bone from the wrist fat.

For the purpose of the study, all the children underwent blood tests to measure their insulin levels.

Revelations of the study
The study found a link between wrist size and insulin levels in the blood. The children with bigger wrists had higher insulin levels.

The investigators found that the wrist circumference accounted for 12 percent of differences in levels of insulin resistance and blood insulin in the study subjects.

The analysis revealed that the wrist bone size testify for 17 percent of the variance in insulin resistance.

On the other hand, BMI explained only about one percent of the difference.

Moreover, the scans also indicated that bone mass and not fat was most strongly correlated with wrist size and insulin resistance.

Dr. Raffaella Buzzetti stated, "This is the first evidence that wrist circumference is highly correlated to evidence of insulin resistance.

"Wrist circumference is easily measured, and if our work is confirmed by future studies, wrist circumference could someday be used to predict insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease risk."

The results of this study will be published April 26 in the journal Circulation.