Abstract
INTRODUCTION: 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. METHODS: 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/m(2) as the reference, we calculated the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) for different BMI categories and their associated outcomes. RESULTS: 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/m(2). CONCLUSION: Obesity is a significant risk factor for prediabetes, with the prevalence of prediabetes increasing among overweight and obese individuals in China.