Integrated Assessment of Anthropometric, Biochemical, Inflammatory and Nutritional Biomarkers for Cardiometabolic Risk among Voluntary Employees

Abstract

The increasing prevalence of obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease (CVD) among the working population is often considered to be influenced by lifestyle and work-related activities such as physical inactivity, unhealthy eating habits, prolonged stress and mental overload. Micronutrient deficiencies have now emerged as a critical factor in modulating metabolic disturbances affecting adiposity, glycaemic regulation and chronic low-grade systemic inflammation. The aim of this study was to explore the association between serum concentrations of various micronutrients like zinc, calcium, iron, magnesium, vitamin D and vitamin B12 with body mass index (BMI), glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) in apparently healthy working employees. Two hundred participants were enrolled in the present cross-sectional study. Participants underwent anthropometric assessment including BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio and blood pressure measurement. The serum concentrations of the analysed micronutrients, HbA1c, hs-CRP and some routine biochemical parameters were determined on an automated clinical chemistry analyser. The mean BMI was 26.84 ± 4.92 kg/m², indicating that a substantial proportion of the participants were overweight. Average fasting blood glucose was 119.84/66.99 mg/dL and average HbA1c level was 6.31 1.65%. Deficiencies of vitamin D and marginal deficiency of zinc were the predominant micronutrient derangements. Serum iron, calcium, magnesium and vitamin B12 concentrations exhibited considerable inter-individual variability. Our results showed significant association of elevated BMI with increased hs-CRP level and low concentration of vitamin D. Thus, it suggests there may be some connection between these micronutrient abnormalities, excess adiposity and chronic low-grade inflammation. Although a few haematological indices remained outside the normal reference range, the observed findings suggest that even in apparently healthy individual’s subclinical micronutrient deficiency could predispose them to developing early cardiometabolic abnormalities. These findings support incorporating anthropometric, biochemical, inflammatory and micronutrient assessments into routine occupational health screening programmes for early identification of individuals at increased cardiometabolic risk.