Hypertriglyceridemic-waist is more predictive of abnormal liver and renal function in an Australian population than a Chinese population

Objective: We aimed to compare the association of hypertriglyceridemic-waist (HTGW), with glycaemia, liver and renal function between a Chinese and an Australian population using 3 HTGW definitions. Methods: 1454 Australian and 5824 Chinese adults, from randomly selected households provided clinical history, glucose, lipids, anthropometric, and blood pressure measurements. Liver and renal functions were assessed using alanine aminotransferase and estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate respectively. The impact of interaction between HTGW and glucose on the liver and renal functions were measured by General Linear Model. Logistic regression was used to estimate the association between this interaction and abnormal liver and renal function. Results: HTGW was associated with abnormal liver and renal function in both Chinese and Australian populations using all 3 HTGW definitions. The highest sensitivity (93 (95% confidence interval: 87, 97) %) and specificity (81 (80, 84) %) were observed for abnormal renal function in the Australian population. The probability of having abnormal liver or renal function increased with glucose in the presence of HTGW phenotype only in the Australian population. Similar findings were revealed in people without type 2 diabetes. Conclusions: In both Chinese and Australian populations, HTGW is associated with abnormal liver and renal function using any of the 3 definitions. HTGW is a potential tool to identify high-risk individuals with impaired renal function especially in the Australian population. HTGW interacted with the fasting glucose in its association with impaired liver and renal function only in the Australian population, suggesting different underlying interactions between environmental and genetic backgrounds.