The Visceral Adiposity Index and Its Usefulness in the Prediction of Cardiometabolic Disorders
Abstract
1. Introduction
1.1. Obesity and Its Phenotypes
1.2. Metabolic Syndrome
1.3. Diabetes Mellitus and Cardiovascular Disease
1.4. Purpose of This Paper
2. Adipose Tissue Dysfunction and Cardiometabolic Disease
3. Visceral Adiposity Index
4. Visceral Adiposity Index and Metabolic Disorders
4.1. Prediabetes
4.2. Diabetes
4.3. Metabolic Syndrome
4.4. Insulin Resistance
4.5. Fatty Liver Disease
5. Visceral Adiposity Index and Cardiovascular Diseases
5.1. Cerebrovascular Disease
5.2. Coronary Heart Disease
5.3. Heart Failure
5.4. Peripheral Arterial Disease
5.5. Atrial Fibrillation
6. Visceral Adiposity Index and Diabetic Kidney Disease
7. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Parameter | Definition |
---|---|
BAI | |
BRI | |
BSI | |
BeWI |
Pro-Inflammatory Adipokines | Anti-Inflammatory Adipokines |
---|---|
leptin, visfatin, chemerin, resistin, osteopontin, retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP-4), angiopoetin-like protein (ANGPTL), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) | adiponectin, omentin, apelin, nesfatin-1, isthmin-1, secreted frizzled-related proteins (SFRPs), C1q/TNF-related protein (CTRP) family, myeloid-derived growth factor (MYDGF) |
Subject Matter | The Most Important Conclusions |
---|---|
Relationship between the visceral adiposity index (VAI) and the risk of metabolic disorders | The studies conducted so far do not provide convincing evidence of a relationship between the VAI and the risk of prediabetes [47,48,49,50,51]. |
There is a clear positive association between the VAI and the risk of diabetes mellitus [52,53,54]. | |
The VAI is valuable in assessing the risk of metabolic syndrome [55,56,57,59]. | |
Relationship between the VAI and cardiovascular diseases | A higher VAI indicates an increased risk of asymptomatic intracranial arterial stenosis [72], risk of stroke [73,74], and a worse prognosis [75]. |
According to most studies, the VAI correlates well with the incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) and the advancement of atherosclerotic lesions [76,77,78,79,80,81,82]. | |
An elevated VAI indicates an increased risk of heart failure, especially with preserved ejection fraction [83,84,88]. The prognostic value is ambiguous [89,90]. | |
The VAI has no evidence of utility in assessing the risk of peripheral arterial disease (PAD), nor is there a significant prognostic value of the VAI in patients already diagnosed with PAD [94,95]. | |
The VAI correlates with risk of atrial fibrillation in patients with obstructive sleep apnea [96] and in patients undergoing surgical myocardial revascularization [97]. | |
Relationship between the VAI and diabetic kidney disease | The VAI is closely related to the risk of diabetic kidney disease [98,99,100,101]. |
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Jakubiak, G.K.; Badicu, G.; Surma, S.; Waluga-Kozłowska, E.; Chwalba, A.; Pawlas, N. The Visceral Adiposity Index and Its Usefulness in the Prediction of Cardiometabolic Disorders. Nutrients 2025, 17, 2374. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17142374
Jakubiak GK, Badicu G, Surma S, Waluga-Kozłowska E, Chwalba A, Pawlas N. The Visceral Adiposity Index and Its Usefulness in the Prediction of Cardiometabolic Disorders. Nutrients. 2025; 17(14):2374. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17142374
Chicago/Turabian StyleJakubiak, Grzegorz K., Georgian Badicu, Stanisław Surma, Ewa Waluga-Kozłowska, Artur Chwalba, and Natalia Pawlas. 2025. "The Visceral Adiposity Index and Its Usefulness in the Prediction of Cardiometabolic Disorders" Nutrients 17, no. 14: 2374. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17142374
APA StyleJakubiak, G. K., Badicu, G., Surma, S., Waluga-Kozłowska, E., Chwalba, A., & Pawlas, N. (2025). The Visceral Adiposity Index and Its Usefulness in the Prediction of Cardiometabolic Disorders. Nutrients, 17(14), 2374. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17142374