Applicability of the visceral adiposity index (VAI) in predicting components of metabolic syndrome in young adults.

INTRODUCTION: Metabolic syndrome (MS) is one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and identifying its components in young adults may constitute an important prevention tool. OBJECTIVE: Analyzing applicability of the Visceral Adiposity Index (VAI) for predicting components of MS in young adults. METHODS: Cross-sectional survey with 444 individuals, mean age 25.6±6.5, 77.7% females. We obtained data on weight, height, waist circumference (WC), body fat percentage (BF%), fasting glycemia, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), HDL cholesterol (HDL-c), LDL cholesterol (LDL-c), and blood pressure (BP), as well as information on their lifestyles. Body Mass Index (BMI), Waist-to-Height Ratio (WHR) and VAI were calculated. Adiposity measurements were compared to the MS components, and for VAI, we determined the predictive capacity of MS components occurrence and the area below the ROC curve. RESULTS: VAI correlated to glucose (r=0.136), HDL-c (r=-436), and TG (r=0.825) in females, and amongst men, it correlated to glucose (r=0.258), HDL-c (r=-0.550), TG (r=0.897), and DBP (r=0.290). An increased VAI was associated to an increased risk of abdominal obesity (OR=1.86), hypertriglyceridemia (OR=30.74), and low HDL-c (OR=3.95). Among obesity indicators, VAI presented a larger area below the curve for increased TG and low HDL-c. CONCLUSION: VAI presented an association to MS components in males and females with an increased risk of abdominal obesity, hipertriglyceridemia, and low HDL-c, proving to be a good MS components predictor even among healthy young adults.