ArticleThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2026
Value of measuring waist circumference in primary care: a mixed-methods study.
Article in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
backgroundIt remains a challenge for GPs to identify all patients at increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in their practice, as performing cardiovascular risk assessment in every single patient is not feasible in routine practice. There is need for a simple tool to screen who is eligible for cardiovascular risk assessment and identify those at increased CVD risk.
aimTo investigate the value of measuring waist circumference in primary care by investigating: current recording practices of GPs; barriers and facilitators; and its contribution as a screening tool in the identification of patients at increased risk of CVD. DESIGN AND
settingA mixed-methods study was conducted in Dutch primary care.
methodWe investigated the following three datasets: routine data from general practices (
resultsBetween 2012 and 2023, incidence rates of recorded waist circumference by GPs decreased from 47 to 3 per 1000 person-years. Barriers to GPs measuring waist circumference included discomfort, inability to measure it accurately, lack of measuring tape, and perceived uselessness. Facilitators included knowledge that increased waist circumference is a cardiovascular risk factor. In the NEO study population, after excluding patients already treated for the prevention of CVD (
conclusionWaist circumference measurement may serve as a valuable screening tool to select patients eligible for cardiovascular risk assessment to identify those at increased risk of CVD in primary care. Since GPs currently rarely measure waist circumference, inclusion in guidelines and addressing identified barriers and facilitators is warranted.
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