Exploring Visceral Fat as a Screening Marker for Cardiometabolic Risk in Children and Adolescents

<b>Objective:</b> To establish and validate age- and sex-specific visceral fat area (VFA) cutoff values for the effective identification of cardiometabolic risk (CMR) in children and adolescents. <b>Methods:</b> A cross-sectional study involving 8133 participants was conducte...

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Main Authors: Xia Wang, Hong Cheng, Jingfan Xiong, Junting Liu, Hongbo Dong, Liwan Fu, Xiangjun Xie, Xinying Shan, Xiaoyuan Zhao, Yinkun Yan, Pei Xiao, Jie Mi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-02-01
Series:Children
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/12/3/308
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author Xia Wang
Hong Cheng
Jingfan Xiong
Junting Liu
Hongbo Dong
Liwan Fu
Xiangjun Xie
Xinying Shan
Xiaoyuan Zhao
Yinkun Yan
Pei Xiao
Jie Mi
author_facet Xia Wang
Hong Cheng
Jingfan Xiong
Junting Liu
Hongbo Dong
Liwan Fu
Xiangjun Xie
Xinying Shan
Xiaoyuan Zhao
Yinkun Yan
Pei Xiao
Jie Mi
author_sort Xia Wang
collection DOAJ
description <b>Objective:</b> To establish and validate age- and sex-specific visceral fat area (VFA) cutoff values for the effective identification of cardiometabolic risk (CMR) in children and adolescents. <b>Methods:</b> A cross-sectional study involving 8133 participants was conducted to derive age- and sex-specific VFA cutoffs, which were validated in a longitudinal cohort comprising 10,805 individuals. The predictive performance of the derived VFA cutoffs for CMR was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Additionally, logistic regression models were utilized to calculate the relative risk (RR) of CMR associated with elevated VFA levels. <b>Results:</b> The 75th percentile of the VFA was identified as the optimal cutoff for screening for hypertension, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, and CMR clustering in boys. In girls, the 75th percentile was optimal for screening hypertension, dyslipidemia, and CMR clustering, while the 80th percentile proved best for hyperglycemia. No significant difference in predicative performance was observed between the optimal and simplified VFA cutoffs. Longitudinal validation demonstrated that individuals exceeding the VFA cutoff had a significantly higher risk for CMR, with RRs ranging from 1.33 to 3.89 (all <i>p</i> < 0.001) for boys and from 1.63 to 3.16 (all <i>p</i> < 0.001) for girls. Notably, normal-weight boys with VFA above the cutoff had a significantly higher CMR risk compared to their peers in other weight status categories. <b>Conclusions:</b> Both the optimal and simplified VFA cutoffs are robust tools for screening CMR in Chinese children and adolescents, with significant implications for early intervention strategies.
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spelling doaj-art-e6fc25b569ac418a84073425cb5b524c2025-08-20T03:43:37ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672025-02-0112330810.3390/children12030308Exploring Visceral Fat as a Screening Marker for Cardiometabolic Risk in Children and AdolescentsXia Wang0Hong Cheng1Jingfan Xiong2Junting Liu3Hongbo Dong4Liwan Fu5Xiangjun Xie6Xinying Shan7Xiaoyuan Zhao8Yinkun Yan9Pei Xiao10Jie Mi11Center for Non-Communicable Disease Management, Beijing Children’s Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children’s Health, Beijing 100035, ChinaDepartment of Epidemiology, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing 100035, ChinaDepartment of Child and Adolescent Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, Shenzhen Center for Chronic Disease Control, Shenzhen 518000, ChinaDepartment of Epidemiology, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing 100035, ChinaCenter for Non-Communicable Disease Management, Beijing Children’s Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children’s Health, Beijing 100035, ChinaCenter for Non-Communicable Disease Management, Beijing Children’s Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children’s Health, Beijing 100035, ChinaCenter for Non-Communicable Disease Management, Beijing Children’s Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children’s Health, Beijing 100035, ChinaDepartment of Epidemiology, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing 100035, ChinaDepartment of Epidemiology, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing 100035, ChinaCenter for Non-Communicable Disease Management, Beijing Children’s Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children’s Health, Beijing 100035, ChinaCenter for Non-Communicable Disease Management, Beijing Children’s Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children’s Health, Beijing 100035, ChinaCenter for Non-Communicable Disease Management, Beijing Children’s Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children’s Health, Beijing 100035, China<b>Objective:</b> To establish and validate age- and sex-specific visceral fat area (VFA) cutoff values for the effective identification of cardiometabolic risk (CMR) in children and adolescents. <b>Methods:</b> A cross-sectional study involving 8133 participants was conducted to derive age- and sex-specific VFA cutoffs, which were validated in a longitudinal cohort comprising 10,805 individuals. The predictive performance of the derived VFA cutoffs for CMR was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Additionally, logistic regression models were utilized to calculate the relative risk (RR) of CMR associated with elevated VFA levels. <b>Results:</b> The 75th percentile of the VFA was identified as the optimal cutoff for screening for hypertension, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, and CMR clustering in boys. In girls, the 75th percentile was optimal for screening hypertension, dyslipidemia, and CMR clustering, while the 80th percentile proved best for hyperglycemia. No significant difference in predicative performance was observed between the optimal and simplified VFA cutoffs. Longitudinal validation demonstrated that individuals exceeding the VFA cutoff had a significantly higher risk for CMR, with RRs ranging from 1.33 to 3.89 (all <i>p</i> < 0.001) for boys and from 1.63 to 3.16 (all <i>p</i> < 0.001) for girls. Notably, normal-weight boys with VFA above the cutoff had a significantly higher CMR risk compared to their peers in other weight status categories. <b>Conclusions:</b> Both the optimal and simplified VFA cutoffs are robust tools for screening CMR in Chinese children and adolescents, with significant implications for early intervention strategies.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/12/3/308cardiometabolic riskvisceral fat areacutoffsobesitychildrenadolescents
spellingShingle Xia Wang
Hong Cheng
Jingfan Xiong
Junting Liu
Hongbo Dong
Liwan Fu
Xiangjun Xie
Xinying Shan
Xiaoyuan Zhao
Yinkun Yan
Pei Xiao
Jie Mi
Exploring Visceral Fat as a Screening Marker for Cardiometabolic Risk in Children and Adolescents
Children
cardiometabolic risk
visceral fat area
cutoffs
obesity
children
adolescents
title Exploring Visceral Fat as a Screening Marker for Cardiometabolic Risk in Children and Adolescents
title_full Exploring Visceral Fat as a Screening Marker for Cardiometabolic Risk in Children and Adolescents
title_fullStr Exploring Visceral Fat as a Screening Marker for Cardiometabolic Risk in Children and Adolescents
title_full_unstemmed Exploring Visceral Fat as a Screening Marker for Cardiometabolic Risk in Children and Adolescents
title_short Exploring Visceral Fat as a Screening Marker for Cardiometabolic Risk in Children and Adolescents
title_sort exploring visceral fat as a screening marker for cardiometabolic risk in children and adolescents
topic cardiometabolic risk
visceral fat area
cutoffs
obesity
children
adolescents
url https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/12/3/308
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