Association of visceral adiposity index and chronic pain in US adults: a cross-sectional study

Abstract The Visceral Obesity Index (VAI) is utilized as a metric employed to assess the distribution of abdominal adipose tissue as well as the functional status of adipose tissue. Nevertheless, the interplay between VAI and persistent pain has yet to be investigated. This cross-sectional analysis...

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Main Authors: Weilong Xu, Ruizhen Shi, Youzhuang Zhu, Wei Feng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-03-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-93041-1
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author Weilong Xu
Ruizhen Shi
Youzhuang Zhu
Wei Feng
author_facet Weilong Xu
Ruizhen Shi
Youzhuang Zhu
Wei Feng
author_sort Weilong Xu
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The Visceral Obesity Index (VAI) is utilized as a metric employed to assess the distribution of abdominal adipose tissue as well as the functional status of adipose tissue. Nevertheless, the interplay between VAI and persistent pain has yet to be investigated. This cross-sectional analysis investigated the relationship between VAI and persistent pain among 1357 American adults from NHANES data. A logarithmic transformation of VAI was performed to adjust for skewness. Following the adjustment for relevant variables, logistic regression analysis showed a noteworthy association between VAI and chronic pain, suggesting that higher VAI values may be linked to an increased prevalence of persistent pain. Curve fitting analysis revealed a nonlinear correlation, with a breakpoint at a VAI value of 0.18. For VAI values below this threshold, each unit increase was notably correlated with an elevated prevalence of persistent pain, while increases in VAI beyond this threshold did not show a significant impact on chronic pain prevalence. Subgroup analyses indicated that the VAI may serve as a relatively independent risk factor for persistent pain. These findings highlight the possibility of incorporating abdominal adipose modification into pain management approaches and emphasize the critical importance of monitoring visceral fat accumulation to better identify patients more susceptible to chronic pain.
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spelling doaj-art-b0b5a70c58c24196a4b5dbfbfa8f56312025-08-20T03:41:40ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-03-0115111110.1038/s41598-025-93041-1Association of visceral adiposity index and chronic pain in US adults: a cross-sectional studyWeilong Xu0Ruizhen Shi1Youzhuang Zhu2Wei Feng3Department of Anesthesiology, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao UniversityQingdao UniversityDepartment of Anesthesiology, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao UniversityDepartment of Anesthesiology, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao UniversityAbstract The Visceral Obesity Index (VAI) is utilized as a metric employed to assess the distribution of abdominal adipose tissue as well as the functional status of adipose tissue. Nevertheless, the interplay between VAI and persistent pain has yet to be investigated. This cross-sectional analysis investigated the relationship between VAI and persistent pain among 1357 American adults from NHANES data. A logarithmic transformation of VAI was performed to adjust for skewness. Following the adjustment for relevant variables, logistic regression analysis showed a noteworthy association between VAI and chronic pain, suggesting that higher VAI values may be linked to an increased prevalence of persistent pain. Curve fitting analysis revealed a nonlinear correlation, with a breakpoint at a VAI value of 0.18. For VAI values below this threshold, each unit increase was notably correlated with an elevated prevalence of persistent pain, while increases in VAI beyond this threshold did not show a significant impact on chronic pain prevalence. Subgroup analyses indicated that the VAI may serve as a relatively independent risk factor for persistent pain. These findings highlight the possibility of incorporating abdominal adipose modification into pain management approaches and emphasize the critical importance of monitoring visceral fat accumulation to better identify patients more susceptible to chronic pain.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-93041-1ObesityVisceral adiposity indexPersistent painNHANESPrevalence study
spellingShingle Weilong Xu
Ruizhen Shi
Youzhuang Zhu
Wei Feng
Association of visceral adiposity index and chronic pain in US adults: a cross-sectional study
Scientific Reports
Obesity
Visceral adiposity index
Persistent pain
NHANES
Prevalence study
title Association of visceral adiposity index and chronic pain in US adults: a cross-sectional study
title_full Association of visceral adiposity index and chronic pain in US adults: a cross-sectional study
title_fullStr Association of visceral adiposity index and chronic pain in US adults: a cross-sectional study
title_full_unstemmed Association of visceral adiposity index and chronic pain in US adults: a cross-sectional study
title_short Association of visceral adiposity index and chronic pain in US adults: a cross-sectional study
title_sort association of visceral adiposity index and chronic pain in us adults a cross sectional study
topic Obesity
Visceral adiposity index
Persistent pain
NHANES
Prevalence study
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-93041-1
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AT ruizhenshi associationofvisceraladiposityindexandchronicpaininusadultsacrosssectionalstudy
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AT weifeng associationofvisceraladiposityindexandchronicpaininusadultsacrosssectionalstudy