Khanmohammadi Shaghayegh, Fallahtafti Parisa, Habibzadeh Amirhossein, Ezzatollahi Tanha Ali, Alamdari Amir Ali, Fallahtafti Parsa, Shafi Kuchay Mohammad
School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Research Center for Immunodeficiencies, Pediatrics Center of Excellence, Children's Medical Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Lipids Health Dis. 2025 Mar 27;24(1):117. doi: 10.1186/s12944-025-02544-3.
Several anthropometric indices, such as body mass index and waist circumference, have been used as clinical screening tools for the prediction of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). To further refine these clinical tools for NAFLD, the body roundness index (BRI) has recently been evaluated. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, the objective was to evaluate the relationship and predictive capability of the BRI in identifying NAFLD.
A comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus up to December 31, 2024. Eligibility criteria included observational studies on adults (≥ 18 years old) with measured BRI and its association with NAFLD. The Joanna Briggs Institute tool was used for risk of bias assessment. Meta-analyses used random-effects models to pool data on mean difference, odds ratio, sensitivity, specificity, and the area under the curve (AUC), with heterogeneity and publication bias assessed.
Ten studies involving 59,466 participants were included. The pooled mean difference in BRI between the NAFLD and non-NAFLD groups was 1.73 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.31-2.15). The pooled sensitivity and specificity of BRI for diagnosing NAFLD were 0.806 and 0.692, respectively. The pooled AUC for BRI was 0.803 (95% CI: 0.775-0.830), indicating good diagnostic accuracy. Unlike subgroup analysis by country, subgroup analysis by sex showed no significant differences. Higher BRI values were associated with increased odds of NAFLD (pooled OR = 2.87, 95% CI: 1.39; 5.96). Studies provided mixed results on the predictive ability of BRI compared to other indices like body mass index, mostly favoring BRI over conventional indices.
BRI demonstrates a good diagnostic performance for NAFLD, suggesting it may be a valuable clinical tool for NAFLD assessment. Further research is necessary to validate these findings and strengthen the evidence base.
几种人体测量指标，如体重指数和腰围，已被用作预测非酒精性脂肪性肝病（NAFLD）的临床筛查工具。为了进一步完善这些用于NAFLD的临床工具，最近对身体圆润度指数（BRI）进行了评估。在这项系统评价和荟萃分析中，目的是评估BRI在识别NAFLD中的关系和预测能力。
截至2024年12月31日，在PubMed、Embase、Web of Science和Scopus中进行了全面检索。纳入标准包括对成年人（≥18岁）进行的观察性研究，这些研究测量了BRI及其与NAFLD的关联。使用乔安娜·布里格斯研究所工具进行偏倚风险评估。荟萃分析使用随机效应模型汇总关于平均差异、优势比、敏感性、特异性和曲线下面积（AUC）的数据，并评估异质性和发表偏倚。
纳入了10项研究，涉及59466名参与者。NAFLD组和非NAFLD组之间BRI的合并平均差异为1.73（95%置信区间[CI]：1.31 - 2.15）。BRI诊断NAFLD的合并敏感性和特异性分别为0.806和0.692。BRI的合并AUC为0.803（95%CI：0.775 - 0.830），表明诊断准确性良好。与按国家进行的亚组分析不同，按性别进行的亚组分析没有显著差异。较高的BRI值与NAFLD几率增加相关（合并OR = 2.87，95%CI：1.39；5.96）。与体重指数等其他指标相比，关于BRI预测能力的研究结果不一，大多支持BRI优于传统指标。
BRI对NAFLD显示出良好的诊断性能，表明它可能是NAFLD评估中有价值的临床工具。需要进一步研究来验证这些发现并加强证据基础。
