# Relationship Between BMI and Prediabetes in Chinese Adults: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study

## TL;DR

This study finds that higher BMI increases prediabetes risk in Chinese adults, with significant risk starting at a BMI of 22.9.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into the specific BMI-prediabetes relationship in the Chinese population using a large dataset.

## Key findings

- Prediabetes risk increases significantly when BMI exceeds 22.9 kg/m².
- Overweight and obese individuals in China have higher prediabetes prevalence.
- Multiple health variables differ significantly across BMI groups.

## Abstract

Prediabetes represents a critical stage in the progression towards diabetes. However, there is a scarcity of studies examining the specific impact of body mass index (BMI) on prediabetes risk among the Chinese population. This study aims to analyze the association between BMI and the risk of prediabetes in Chinese adults.

In this cross-sectional analytical study, we analyzed data from 11,847 participants in the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) conducted in 2011. For both univariate and multivariate analyses, logistic regression models were employed. Using a BMI range of 18.5–23.9 kg/m2 as the reference, we calculated the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) for different BMI categories and their associated outcomes.

Significant differences were observed in the distribution of variables such as gender, age, education level, marital status, smoking and drinking habits, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), waist circumference (WC), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), hypertension, dyslipidemia, heart disease, kidney disease, and prediabetes across different BMI groups (p < 0.05). Furthermore, when BMI was treated as a continuous variable, curve fitting analysis indicated that the risk of prediabetes increased when BMI exceeded 22.9 kg/m2.

Obesity is a significant risk factor for prediabetes, with the prevalence of prediabetes increasing among overweight and obese individuals in China.