Comparison of Body Mass Index and Metabolic Score for Visceral Adiposity in Evaluation of Visceral Adiposity
Condition: Visceral Obesity
MeSH terms: Obesity; Obesity, Abdominal
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      Visceral obesity is a major risk factor for cardiometabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes,
      hypertension, and coronary artery disease. In clinical settings and during research, "body
      mass index (BMI)" is usually used for assessing obesity, and when it is above 30 kg/m2, it is
      defined as obesity. However, the risk posed by obesity is more related to body fat
      distribution than total body fat, and BMI only reflects the second. Individuals with a BMI
      below 30, even 25, may still have visceral adiposity detectable via an abdominal computerized
      tomography ( CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Therefore new, practical, inexpensive
      parameters are needed to evaluate visceral adiposity. "Metabolic Score for Visceral Adiposity
      (METS-VF)", "Body Shape Index (BSI)", "Conicity Index (CI)" and "Body Roundness Index (BRI)"
      are a few recent indexes developed trying to fulfill these needs. The aim is to investigate
      the effectivity of METS-VF in comparison with BMI, BSI, CI, and BRI in reflecting visceral
      adiposity assessed with CT.
    

Detailed description: 
      This study is a single-center, observational and prospective study. Patients who underwent
      abdominal computed tomography (CT) covering the L3-L4 level in the last month for any reason
      and who did not have any of the following situations in the participants' CT reports:
      malignancy, pancreatitis, diseases requiring further investigation, chronic inflammatory
      diseases, and a pathology requiring hospitalization for more than 24 hours, will be invited
      to the study. Of the patients who consent to the study, gender, age, education level, current
      diseases, medications, and smoking status are questioned. Anthropometric measurements,
      especially waist, height, and weight are taken. Patients' biochemical parameters such as
      lipid profiles (LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, Triglyceride), urea, creatinine, uric acid,
      fasting blood glucose, and C-peptide levels (after 8-12 hours of fasting), and thyroid
      hormones were measured in the last three months are recorded from the participants' files.
      The body mass index (BMI) of the patients will be calculated with the formula weight (kg) /
      height (m)2. Patients will be in 5 groups with BMI <25 kg/m2, 25-29.9 kg/m2, 30-34.9 kg/m2,
      35-39.9 kg/m2, and >40 kg/m2, with 40 patients in each group. Visceral adipose tissue will be
      calculated by the radiologist by measuring with the "slicer" method at the level of L3-4 on
      abdominal CT. For "Metabolic Score for Visceral Fat (METS-VF)", the formula 4.466 +
      0.011*(Ln(METS-IR))3 + 3.239*(Ln(Waist/height ratio))3 + 0.319*(Gender) + 0.594*(Ln(Age)) and
      for "Body Waist Circumference" the formula (BMI2/3 * height1/2) are used. Based on the
      visceral adipose tissue measured by CT, firstly, BMI and METS-VF will be compared, and then
      the other mentioned anthropometric index values will be compared statistically. The
      assumption is that the METS-VF index is superior to the other indexes, including the BMI.
      Also, as a second endpoint, it is aimed to find a cut-off value for METS-VF in Turkish
      individuals to reflect the increased visceral adiposity assessed with CT.
    

Observational model: Cohort
Time perspective: Cross-Sectional
Sampling method: Non-Probability Sample
Study population: 
        Patients aged between 20 and 50 years old who underwent abdominal computed tomography (CT)
        imaging, including the L3-L4 level for any reason in the last month, with no detectable
        malignancy, pancreatitis, diseases requiring further investigation, chronic inflammatory
        diseases, and a pathology necessitating hospitalization for more than 24 hours in the CT
        evaluation, we're invited to the study.
      
Keywords: visceral adiposity; metabolic score for visceral fat (METS-VF); body mass index