Bijari Moniba, Jangjoo Sara, Emami Nima, Raji Sara, Mottaghi Mahdi, Moallem Roya, Jangjoo Ali, Saberi Amin
Student Research Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Surgical Oncology Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Int J Endocrinol. 2021 Jul 26;2021:6684627. doi: 10.1155/2021/6684627. eCollection 2021.
Visceral adiposity index (VAI) is a novel marker of fat distribution and function which incorporates both anthropometric and laboratory measures. Recently, several studies have suggested VAI as a screening tool for metabolic syndrome (MetS). Here, we aimed to consolidate the results of these studies by performing a systematic review and meta-analysis.
We searched PubMed and EMBASE online databases for eligible studies that investigated the association of VAI and MetS. After reviewing 294 records, we included 33 eligible papers with a sum of 20516 MetS and 53242 healthy participants. The risk of bias in the included studies was assessed, and the relevant data was extracted. All included studies reported a significant association between VAI and MetS screening, but were highly heterogeneous in their reported effects. We pooled the diagnostic test accuracy metrics of VAI for MetS screening and showed that it has a moderate-to-high accuracy with an area under the summary receiver operating characteristics curve of 0.847, a pooled sensitivity of 78%, and a pooled specificity of 79%. Besides, we pooled the difference in means of VAI between patients with MetS and healthy controls, revealing that VAI was 2.15 units higher in MetS patients.
VAI is an accurate, low-cost, and widely available screening marker for MetS. However, further studies are needed to evaluate its applicability in clinical practice, determine an optimal cut-off, and identify populations that would benefit the most from it.
内脏脂肪指数（VAI）是一种新型的脂肪分布和功能标志物，它综合了人体测量学和实验室检测指标。最近，多项研究表明VAI可作为代谢综合征（MetS）的筛查工具。在此，我们旨在通过进行系统评价和荟萃分析来整合这些研究的结果。
我们在PubMed和EMBASE在线数据库中检索了调查VAI与MetS之间关联的符合条件的研究。在审查了294条记录后，我们纳入了33篇符合条件的论文，其中共有20516名MetS患者和53242名健康参与者。评估了纳入研究中的偏倚风险，并提取了相关数据。所有纳入研究均报告VAI与MetS筛查之间存在显著关联，但报告的效应高度异质性。我们汇总了VAI用于MetS筛查的诊断试验准确性指标，结果显示其具有中度至高度准确性，汇总受试者工作特征曲线下面积为0.847，汇总灵敏度为78%，汇总特异度为79%。此外，我们汇总了MetS患者与健康对照者之间VAI均值的差异，结果显示MetS患者的VAI高2.15个单位。
VAI是一种准确、低成本且广泛可用的MetS筛查标志物。然而，需要进一步研究以评估其在临床实践中的适用性，确定最佳临界值，并确定能从中获益最大的人群。
