Visceral adiposity index as a predictor of insulin resistance in women with and without metabolic syndrome

Abstract

Background. Visceral adiposity index (VAI) is a mathematical formula based on routine anthropometric and biochemical parameters: body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), triglycerides (TG), c-reactive protein (CRP) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL). It reflects visceral adipocyte dysfunction. Its increase is strongly associated with obesity-related risk. VAI as a predictive marker of insulin resistance (IR) is proposed to be a valuable tool for identifying individuals at higher cardiometabolic risk. This study aimed to assess the applicability of VAI as an indirect IR marker and investigate the association of VAI and metabolic syndrome (MetS) components. Material and methods. The study comprised 157 individuals without MetS and 201 with MetS. All participants were female and >55 years old. The following laboratory analyses were performed: glucose, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), CRP, HDL, TG, and uric acid. Anthropometric parameters (height, weight, WC) and blood pressure (BP) were measured. The data obtained were used to calculate each participant's BMI and VAI. Based on the results, all subjects were divided into groups: Group A -without MetS, Group B -with MetS. Group B (with MetS) was additionally divided into groups C (without diabetes) and D (with diabetes). Results. Statistically significant differences in VAI, fasting glucose, CRP, HDL, and TG were demonstrated between the non-MetS and MetS groups. In group A, there were statistically significant and positive correlations between VAI and WC, serum uric acid and TG, while there was a negative correlation between VAI and HDL. In Group B, as well as in Group C, there were statistically significant and positive correlations between VAI and BMI, WC, serum uric acid and TG, while there was a negative correlation between VAI and HDL. In group D, there were statistically significant and positive correlations between VAI and serum uric acid, TC and TG, while there was a negative correlation between VAI and HDL. Conclusion. VAI seems to be a promising and easy-to-use primary care marker that effectively identifies individuals at high risk of cardiometabolic complications, especially with IR, unfavorable lipid profiles, and MetS accompanied by diabetes. The simplicity of VAI determination makes it a candidate for the detection of patients at risk of metabolic disorders and cardiovascular (CV) complications. Further long-term prospective studies are needed to verify the applicability of VAI in other conditions.