Association of the new visceral adiposity index with coronary artery calcification and arterial stiffness in Korean population

Background and aims: The new visceral adiposity index (NVAI) is an indirect marker of visceral adipose tissue recently developed using a Korean population. Here we examined the association of NVAI with coronary artery calcification and arterial stiffness in asymptomatic Korean patients. Methods and results: We analyzed data from 60,938 asymptomatic Korean adults. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for coronary artery calcification score (CACS) > 100 and brachial–ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) ≥14 m/s were calculated across NVAI tertiles using multiple logistic regression analysis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and area under the curve (AUC) analyses were used to assess the ability of NVAI to predict moderate to high risk of cardiovascular disease. The prevalence of moderate and high risk of cardiovascular disease increased significantly as the NVAI tertile increased. The odds ratio (95% CI) of the highest NVAI tertile for CACS >100 was 5.840 (5.101–6.686) for men and 18.916 (11.232–31.855) for women, after adjusting for confounders. All NVAI AUC values were significantly higher than the AUC values for other visceral adiposity markers. Conclusions: This study provides the evidence that NVAI is independently and positively associated with coronary calcification and arterial stiffness in asymptomatic Korean adults.