Association Between Metabolic Scores for Visceral Fat and Arterial Stiffness

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between arterial stiffness and metabolic syndrome-related visceral fat index (METS-VF), a composite formula that inherently includes age, metabolic parameters, and visceral fat.

A cross-sectional study was conducted between January 2019 and December 2023, enrolling participants from Health Examination Center, and Departments of General Practice and Geriatrics at the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University. Arterial stiffness was defined as carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) of ≥ 10 m/s. METS-VF was calculated based on metabolic score for insulin resistance (METS-IR), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), age, and gender. Participants were categorized into quartiles (Q1-Q4) according to their METS-VF values. The associations between METS-VF and arterial stiffness were evaluated using linear regression analysis, logistic regression models, stratified analyses, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, and restricted cubic splines (RCS) to identify potential non-linear associations.

A total of 3782 participants, with a mean age of 59.42 ± 11.89 years and 62.96% male, were included in this study. There was a trend of increasing arterial stiffness from lower to higher METS-VF quartile (Q1 to Q4: 19.98%, 28.68%, 37.99%, 49.37%, χ ² = 201.04, P < 0.001). Linear regression analysis showed an independent association between METS-VF with cfPWV (β = 0.19, 95% CI 0.03 ~ 0.35). In the fully adjusted model, compared with Q1, the participants in Q4 (OR= 1.38, 95% CI 1.06 ~ 1.79, P =0.016) exhibited an increase in arterial stiffness. RCS analysis revealed a non-linear association between METS-VF and arterial stiffness. ROC curve analysis demonstrated that METS-VF had superior discriminative ability for arterial stiffness compared with body mass index (BMI) and WHtR (P < 0.001). Similar results were observed in subgroup analyses.

METS-VF is independently and positively associated with arterial stiffness. Its discriminative performance is superior to traditional anthropometric indices, though causality requires further investigation.