Noninvasive visceral adiposity scores provide a ‘one-shot’ assessment of HF risk

Data from a large US survey show a non-invasive visceral adiposity index score to assess obesity can independently predict and serve as a novel marker of HF risk, researchers report.

“Previous studies have shown that patients with HF, especially HF with preserved ejection fraction, exhibit higher visceral adipose tissue,” Xiaoping JiMD, PhD, Written by Professor and Deputy Director of the Department of Cardiology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, China, and colleagues. “These studies usually evaluate visceral adipose tissue using CT or MRI. Visceral adiposity index (VAI) was calculated using BMI, waist circumference, triglycerides and HDL cholesterol. Compared with CT or MRI, calculation of VAI is easier and more economical and is convenient. Previous studies have shown that visceral adipose tissue is associated with diabetes, hyperuricemia, metabolic syndrome, hypertension, atherosclerosis and vascular calcification. However, to our knowledge, the relationship between VAI and HF has not been studied.”

In a cross-sectional study, Zhang and colleagues analyzed data from 28,764 adults who participated in the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2009–2018; mean age, 50 years). The researchers calculated VAI using BMI, waist circumference, triglyceride level and HDL level, and assessed VAI as a continuous and categorical variable for its association with HF.

The results were published in Clinical Cardiology.

The researchers found that adults with HF exhibited higher VAI than those without HF (P .001).

When VAI was analyzed as a continuous variable, each per-unit increase in VAI was associated with a higher risk for HF (OR = 1.04; 95% CI, 1.02-1.05), results that persisted after adjustment for factors including sex, age, and race. . , hypertension, diabetes status, smoking, alcohol consumption and kidney and liver disease (OR = 1.03; 95%, CI, 1-1.05).

When VAI was analyzed as a categorical variable, compared with the lowest VAI quartile, adults in the third quartile had the highest risk for HF (OR = 1.55; 95% CI, 1.24-1.94) after adjustment for comorbidity, age, and sex. There was no interaction between VAI and specific subgroups.

“Stated very simply, non-invasive scores of visceral adiposity allowed a simple non-invasive ‘one-shot’ assessment of HF risk,” the researchers wrote. “Given the increasing prevalence and greater health burden of HF, individuals with high VAI warrant more attention to prevent HF. As such, its potential use as a novel marker of HF risk deserves further investigation.