Abdominal volume index is associated with higher oxidized LDL, high blood pressure and lower HDL among obese adults

Central obesity is a well-known risk factor of numerous disease. Numerous indicators are developed for central obesity measurement, among them, abdominal volume index (AVI), reflecting total volume of the abdomen, precisely estimates the visceral fat volume. As a relatively new health measure and potent prognostic marker of metabolic disturbances, no study is available to investigate its role in cardio-metabolic health and oxidized LDL among obese young adults. In the current study we aimed to evaluate the association between abdominal volume index (AVI) with cardio-metabolic profile including serum lipids, glycemic markers of serum glucose, hemoglobin (Hb) A₁C, insulin, oxidized LDL and blood pressure among young obese adults.

Two hundred twenty young adults aged 18 to 25 years old with overweight or obesity were enrolled in the current study. Anthropometric measurements were done and AVI were calculated. Biochemical variables including serum total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), triglyceride (TG), glycemic markers, including fasting serum glucose (FBS), insulin, hemoglobin (Hb) A₁C and blood pressure were also measured with an automatic analyzer.

Participants in the third tertiles of AVI had higher body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) (p < 0.001 for all). Among biochemical variables, oxidized LDL, TG and HDL demonstrated significant associations across AVI tertiles in the first and second models, with higher oxidized LDL and TG and lower HDL levels observed in higher AVI tertiles (p < 0.05). Moreover, those at the highest AVI tertiles showed significantly higher odds ratios for elevated cardio-metabolic index and systolic and diastolic blood pressures compared to the first tertiles (p < 0.05).

In the current study, we comprehensively investigated the association between AVI with cardio-metabolic health in young obese adults and accordingly, AVI was unfavorably associated with metabolic health among obese adults. Further studies are needed to elaborate the underlying mechanisms.

Not applicable.