Association Between Cardiometabolic Index and Stroke: A Population- based Cross-sectional Study

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular epidemiology
• Metabolic health and disease
• Stroke risk assessment

Background:

• The Cardiometabolic Index (CMI) is linked to stroke risk factors, but its direct role in stroke prediction requires further investigation.
• Existing research highlights associations between CMI and various cardiometabolic risk factors, yet its independent predictive value for stroke remains underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the association between the Cardiometabolic Index (CMI) and the risk of stroke within a general population.
• This study aimed to determine if CMI can serve as a predictor of stroke in adults aged 40 and above.

Main Methods:

• A population-based cross-sectional study involving 4052 participants aged ≥40 years.
• CMI was calculated using waist circumference-to-height ratio (WHtR) and triglyceride-to-HDL cholesterol ratio (TG/HDL-C).
• Multivariate logistic regression and ROC curve analyses were employed to assess stroke risk across CMI quartiles.

Main Results:

• Stroke prevalence increased significantly with higher CMI quartiles (4.4% in Q1 to 9.2% in Q4).
• Individuals in higher CMI quartiles (Q2-Q4) had a 1.55 to 1.70-fold increased risk of stroke compared to the lowest quartile (Q1).
• CMI demonstrated a lower stroke discrimination ability (AUC=0.574) compared to WHtR (AUC=0.627), but showed a marginal advantage over TG/HDL-C (AUC=0.556).

Conclusions:

• A significant and independent association exists between the Cardiometabolic Index (CMI) and stroke in the general population.
• Despite its association, CMI exhibits limited discriminating power for stroke prediction.
• Development of novel parameters is recommended for improved stroke risk assessment.