Chinese visceral adiposity index outperforms other obesity indexes in association with increased overall cancer incidence: findings from prospective MJ cohort study.

BACKGROUND

We assessed the associations of visceral adiposity indexes such as Chinese Visceral Adiposity Index (CVAI), Visceral Adiposity Index (VAI), Lipid Accumulation Product (LAP), waist circumference (WC), and waist-hip ratio (WHR) with overall and specific cancer incidence in a Chinese population.

METHODS

332,297 individuals from the Taiwan MJ cohort (1996-2007) were included. We utilized multivariable Cox proportional hazards models to examine associations of baseline visceral adiposity indexes and cancer incidences. Sex-specific CVAI, VAI, and LAP were calculated, incorporating WC and triglycerides levels. CVAI and VAI also included body mass index and high-density lipoprotein, with CVAI further incorporating age.

RESULTS

Higher CVAI was consistently associated with higher overall cancer incidence, with HRs of 1.45 (95% CI: 1.2-1.76) and 2.03 (95% CI: 1.52-2.72) for males and females, respectively, comparing the fifth quintile to the first. The HRs for WC were 1.27 (95% CI: 1.08-1.49) and 1.19 (95% CI: 1.01-1.40) for males and females, WHR was significantly associated with cancer risk in males (HR:1.28; 95% CI: 1.13-1.45), and LAP was significantly associated with cancer risk in females (HR: 1.25; 95% CI: 1.04-1.5). VAI was not associated with overall cancer incidence.

DISCUSSION

CVAI is a superior clinical biomarker for predicting cancer incidence in the Chinese population compared to traditional visceral obesity indices.