What question did this study set out to answer?

This study aims to assess the relationship between age-adjusted visceral fat index (AVAI) and the prevalence of congestive heart failure (CHF).

April 28, 2026Open Access

Association between age-adjusted visceral fat index (AVAI) and congestive heart failure: A cross-sectional study

Q: What is the clinical evidence from this study?

Study design: Cross-Sectional. Population: Congestive heart failure (CHF) (n=6695). Intervention: Age-adjusted visceral adiposity index (AVAI). Primary outcome: Prevalence of congestive heart failure (adjusted OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.31-1.87).

Q: What does this research mean for the field?

Higher age-adjusted visceral adiposity index (AVAI) is significantly associated with an increased prevalence of congestive heart failure. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

Key Result

Higher age-adjusted visceral adiposity index (AVAI) was significantly associated with an increased prevalence of congestive heart failure (adjusted OR 1.57; 95% CI 1.31-1.87).

Key Points

This study aims to assess the relationship between age-adjusted visceral fat index (AVAI) and the prevalence of congestive heart failure (CHF).
Cross-sectional data was analyzed from the 2013-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
Logistic regression analyzed the association while adjusting for covariates.
Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis assessed the discriminative ability of AVAI.
Logistic regression showed a significant positive association between AVAI and CHF prevalence (OR = 1.75, 95% CI: 1.62-2.89).
After adjusting for confounders, the association remained robust (adjusted OR = 1.57, 95% CI: 1.31-1.87).
AVAI demonstrated superior discriminative performance compared to VAI in identifying prevalent CHF cases.

Study Design

Type

Cross-Sectional (n=6,695)

Structured PICO

Is the age-adjusted visceral adiposity index (AVAI) associated with the prevalence of congestive heart failure?

Population

6,695 participants from the 2013-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), comprising 6,470 without congestive heart failure (CHF) and 225 with CHF.

Intervention

Age-adjusted visceral adiposity index (AVAI)

Comparator

Lower AVAI / Visceral adiposity index (VAI)

Outcome

Prevalence of congestive heart failure (CHF)

The age-adjusted visceral adiposity index (AVAI) is significantly associated with prevalent congestive heart failure and shows superior discriminative ability compared to the standard visceral adiposity index.

Main Result

Effect estimate: adjusted OR 1.57 (95% CI 1.31-1.87)

Abstract

ObjectiveCongestive heart failure (CHF) is a chronic disease marked by impaired cardiac function, and excess visceral fat has been reported to be associated with CHF. While the age-adjusted visceral adiposity index (AVAI) is a novel metric for evaluating visceral fat, its association with CHF has not been well elucidated.MethodsThe association between AVAI and CHF prevalence was assessed using cross-sectional data from the 2013-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Logistic regression was used to assess the association between AVAI and CHF prevalence, with sequential adjustment for covariates. Subgroup analyses stratified by demographic variables and lifestyle factors were done to examine the robustness of the results. Lastly, the discriminative ability of VAI and AVAI in distinguishing individuals with and without prevalent CHF was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.ResultsA total of 6,695 participants were included in the analysis, comprising 6,470 without CHF and 225 with CHF. Logistic regression revealed a significant positive association between AVAI and CHF prevalence (OR = 1.75, 95% CI: 1.62-2.89), which remained robust after adjusting for confounders (adjusted OR = 1.57, 95% CI: 1.31-1.87). In subgroup studies, AVAI was consistently associated with the prevalence of CHF. ROC analysis indicated that AVAI demonstrated superior discriminative performance compared with VAI in distinguishing individuals with and without prevalent CHF.ConclusionsThis cross-sectional study identified a significant association between AVAI and prevalent CHF. AVAI may represent a clinically relevant marker associated with the prevalence of CHF and may help identify populations with a higher likelihood of prevalent CHF for further prospective investigation.