Evidence mapPaperPMID 41365594Full record

ArticleBMJ open2025

Head-to-head comparison of visceral adiposity indices (A Body Shape Index and Visceral Adiposity Index) with traditional anthropometrics: a community-based strategy for cardiovascular risk prediction in urban China.

Guoliang Ma, Wenyan Wang, Lin Zhu, Wenting Li, Zhuanzhuan Fan, Weiyi Zhong, Wenjing Zang, Xin Hong, Kun Li

Abstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Guoliang Ma *Nanjing Muncipal Center for Disease Centrol and Prevention, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4736-6651
Wenyan Wang *Department of Nephrology, Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.
Lin ZhuNanjing Muncipal Center for Disease Centrol and Prevention, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Wenting LiNanjing Muncipal Center for Disease Centrol and Prevention, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Zhuanzhuan FanNanjing Muncipal Center for Disease Centrol and Prevention, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Weiyi ZhongNanjing Muncipal Center for Disease Centrol and Prevention, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Wenjing ZangYuhuatai District Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.
Xin HongDepartment of Non-communicable Disease Prevention, Nanjing Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Nanjing, China nj_hongxin@126.com kunli_1989@163.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0927-5484
Kun LiThe Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China nj_hongxin@126.com kunli_1989@163.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThis study aimed to compare the predictive performance of novel adiposity indices (a body shape index (ABSI) and visceral adiposity index (VAI)) with traditional anthropometrics (body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR)) for cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in urban China. Secondary objectives included evaluating composite indices derived from principal component analysis (PCA) and evaluating optimised risk stratification strategies.

designA community-based cross-sectional study.

settingUrban and rural communities in Nanjing, China, from 2020 to 2023.

participants38 427 adults aged 35-79 years, recruited via stratified sampling. Individuals aged <35 or >79 years, who were pregnant or had severe illness or cognitive impairment were excluded. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was a CVD high-risk status (defined by Chinese guidelines). Secondary outcomes included detection rates, area under the curve (AUC), ORs and multicollinearity diagnostics.

resultsAmong participants, 23.3% (n=8905) were classified as high risk for CVD. In this study, WHtR demonstrated the greatest discriminative power (AUC=0.826, 95% CI 0.819 to 0.832), followed by a PCA-derived composite obesity index (COI; AUC=0.822). ABSI showed a clear risk gradient, with a 38.5% detection rate in the high-risk group (ABSI≥0.085), and VAI exhibited a modest but statistically significant effect (OR=1.026, p=0.001). Severe multicollinearity among traditional indices (variance inflation factor >40) was mitigated by COI. Combined models (eg, COI+ABSI+ VAI) achieved comparable AUC (0.825) with improved parsimony (AIC=17 4010.34). Age, hypertension and dyslipidaemia were key covariates (ORs=1.15-3.88, p<0.001).

conclusionsWHtR and composite indices (eg, COI) appeared to perform better than other indicators in predicting CVD risk, whereas ABSI and VAI enhance stratification in specific subgroups. Implementing WHtR-based screening in primary care, supplemented by composite indices and novel markers for high-risk individuals, may help optimise prevention strategies in urbanising Chinese populations.

Indexed as

AdiposityAnthropometryCardiovascular DiseasesIntra-Abdominal FatObesity, AbdominalAdultAgedBody Mass IndexChinaCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHeart Disease Risk FactorsHumansMaleMiddle AgedRisk AssessmentBody Mass IndexCardiovascular DiseaseCross-Sectional StudiesObesityRisk Assessment

Identifiers

PMID41365594
PMCPMC12699674

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.