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Association of Body Shape Index with Cerebral Small Vessel Disease
Ki-Woong Nam1,2, Hyung-Min Kwon3,4, Han-Yeong Jeong3
1Department of Neurology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea, nam.stroke@gmail.com.
Insights
A high Body Shape Index (ABSI), reflecting visceral fat, is linked to increased cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD) burden, including white matter hyperintensity, silent brain infarct, and cerebral microbleed.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Neurology
- Public Health
Background:
- The Body Shape Index (ABSI) is an anthropometric measure indicating visceral fat.
- While linked to cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, its association with cerebrovascular disease is less studied.
- Cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD) encompasses white matter hyperintensity (WMH), silent brain infarct (SBI), and cerebral microbleed (CMB).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between ABSI and cSVD in health check-up participants.
- To determine if ABSI is a risk factor for different subtypes of cSVD.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 3,219 health check-up participants was analyzed.
- ABSI was calculated using waist circumference, BMI, and height.
- WMH volume, SBI, and CMB were assessed as indicators of cSVD.
Main Results:
- Higher ABSI was significantly associated with increased WMH volume.
- ABSI was also significantly associated with the presence of SBI and CMB.
- A dose-response relationship was observed between ABSI and the burden of cSVD pathologies.
Conclusions:
- Elevated ABSI is associated with a greater burden of cSVD in the general population.
- Visceral fat, as indicated by ABSI, may be a common risk factor underlying various cSVD pathologies.
Introduction:
A body shape index (ABSI) is an anthropometric index designed to reflect the influence of visceral fat. ABSI has been previously associated with various atherosclerosis, metabolic diseases, and cardiovascular diseases; however, relatively few studies have been conducted on cerebrovascular disease. In this study, we evaluated the association between ABSI and cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD) in health check-up participants.
Methods:
We evaluated consecutive health check-up participants between January 2006 and December 2013. As subtypes of cSVD, we quantitatively measured the volume of white matter hyperintensity (WMH) and qualitatively measured the presence of silent brain infarct (SBI) and cerebral microbleed (CMB). ABSI was calculated according to the following formula: ABSI (m11/6/kg-2/3) = waist circumference (m)/(body mass index [kg/m2]2/3 × height [m]1/2).
Results:
A total of 3,219 health check-up participants were assessed (median age, 56 years; male sex, 54.0%). In the multivariable analysis, ABSI was significantly associated with WMH volume (β = 0.107, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.013-0.200), SBI (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.62, 95% CI = 1.14-2.31), and CMB (aOR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.16-2.33) after adjusting for confounders (per 100 m11/6/kg-2/3). Furthermore, ABSI showed a dose-response relationship with the burden of each cSVD pathology.
Conclusions:
High ABSI was associated with a higher burden of cSVD in health check-up participants. As ABSI showed close associations with all subtypes of cSVD, visceral fat may be a common risk factor penetrating cSVD pathologies.
