Emerging evidence highlights the critical role of visceral adiposity in the pathogenesis of hypertension, with the Metabolic Score for Visceral Fat (METS-VF) emerging as a novel biomarker that requires validation in Chinese populations. This prospective cohort study included adults aged ≥ 45 years without hypertension at baseline from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS).From the 2011–2012 CHARLS cohort, 6775 participants were included in the final analysis after excluding those with age trend interaction > 0.05). METS-VF serves as an independent predictor of hypertension in middle-aged and older Chinese adults, outperforming conventional indices. The substantial absolute risk difference—an 18.3% higher 8-year hypertension risk in the highest versus lowest METS-VF quartile—underscores its clinical relevance. The identified risk threshold and superior predictive ability support its potential use in clinical risk stratification and preventive strategies.
Wang et al. (Fri,) studied this question.