The Relationship Between Arterial Stiffness, Anthropometry, and Body Composition in Middle-Aged Individuals: A...

The association between abdominal obesity and arterial stiffness remains controversial. This study was aimed at investigating the associations between anthropometric indices, body composition, and arterial stiffness among middle-aged Thai adults.

A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 153 participants, categorized based on the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) into low (CAVI < 9.0) and high-CAVI (CAVI ≥ 9.0) groups. Traditional (body mass index [BMI], waist circumference [WC], and waist-hip ratio [WHR]) and novel (a body shape index [ABSI], abdominal volume index [AVI], body adiposity index [BAI], body roundness index [BRI], and conicity index [CI]) anthropometric indices were assessed. Body fat percentage (%BF), muscle mass, and visceral fat levels were measured via bioelectrical impedance analysis.

CAVI showed positive correlations with BMI (r = 0.201, p = 0.013), WC (r = 0.315, p < 0.001), WHR (r = 0.226, p = 0.005), ABSI (r = 0.172, p = 0.033), AVI (r = 0.313, p < 0.001), BRI (r = 0.249, p = 0.002), CI (r = 0.255, p = 0.001), and visceral fat level (r = 0.289, p < 0.001). Linear regression confirmed an association between CAVI and muscle mass (β = -0.559, p = 0.035) and visceral fat levels (β = 0.470, p = 0.010). High WC and WHR were significantly associated with arterial stiffness after adjusting for age, gender, and hypertension, whereas BMI and %BF were not.

Abdominal obesity and visceral fat parameters are associated with high CAVI in middle-aged individuals. A higher visceral fat level is linked to increased arterial stiffness.