Association and diagnostic efficacy of waist-to-height ratio with glycemic control in young and middle-aged adults with early-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus

Objective To investigate the cross-sectional association between waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and glycemic control among Chinese young and middle-aged adults with early-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and to evaluate the clinical value of WHtR as a screening indicator for early-onset T2DM.Methods This single-center retrospective cross-sectional study enrolled 302 patients with early-onset T2DM (diagnosed at age ≥ 18 and Results Among 302 included patients, 185 (61.3%) were male, with a mean age of 31.77 ± 8.63 years, mean HbA1c of 7.08 ± 1.23%, and mean WHtR of 0.55 ± 0.07. The poor glycemic control group (HbA1c ≥ 7.0%, n = 155) had significantly higher WHtR, BMI, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), and 2-hour postprandial plasma glucose (2 h-PPG) than the good control group (n = 147, all P Conclusions WHtR is closely associated with glycemic control in Chinese young and middle-aged adults with early-onset T2DM and shows acceptable screening and diagnostic performance for this population. WHtR is simple, non-invasive, and suitable for widespread use in primary clinical settings.Clinical trial number Not applicable.