Association of central obesity measured by a new anthropometric index with the risk of occurrence of a cardiovascular event.

Abstract

Background: In recent years, new anthropometric indices have been developed as an alternative to body mass index (BMI) to improve the estimation of body fat  and its relation to a future cardiovascular event. The most widely used is the body shape index (ABSI) which estimates body adiposity and visceral obesity using hip circumference adjusted for height and weight.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the possible association between cardiovascular risk with ABSI in comparison with the traditional anthropometric indices BMI, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and waist-to-height ratio (WHTR) in a Spanish population.

Methodology: In this cross-sectional study, 576 patients who consecutively attended a vascular risk consultation between September 2021 and December 2022 were analysed. Traditional anthropometric indices (BMI, WHR and WHtR) and ABSI were calculated. Cardiovascular risk was estimated using the Framingham stratification scale, classifying participants as low, moderate or high risk for a future cardiovascular event.

Results: all anthropometric indices analysed were significantly associated with high cardiovascular risk in univariate analysis (p<0.05); however, only ABSI (OR:1.90; 95%CI:1.16-3.30; p=0.012) was significantly associated in multivariate analysis.

Conclusion: Only ABSI was significantly associated with high cardiovascular risk, independent of other confounders.