Abstract
The present study aimed to distinguish different hypertriglyceridemic waist phenotypes and relevant risks of developing fatty liver and abnormal glycometabolic profiles in overweight/obese adults. A total of 1221 Chinese adults with mean (standard deviation [SD]) age of 37 (9) years, 37.3% males and 62.7% females, body mass index (BMI) of 29.0 (4.0) kg/m2, triglyceride (TG) 2.04 (1.45) mmol/L, and waist circumference (WC) 95.8 (10.7) cm were included and classified into four phenotypes: normal TG & normal WC (N-N); normal TG & high WC (N-WC); high TG & normal WC (TG-N); high TG & high WC (TG-WC). Participants in TG-WC group had the highest BMI, WC, blood pressure (BP), insulin, Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), and fatty liver. Participants within N-WC group had a significantly higher risk of fatty liver (adjusted OR 3.50 [95% CI 2.05–5.97]), as well as TG-N (adjusted OR 2.59 [95% CI 1.61–4.16]) and TG-WC (adjusted OR 4.12 [95% CI 2.28–7.46]). The risk of elevated HOMA-IR was significantly higher in TG-N (adjusted OR 2.16 [95% CI 1.33–3.50]) and TG-WC (adjusted OR 2.04 [95% CI 1.22–3.40]). The risk of elevated HbA1c was significantly higher in the TG-WC (adjusted OR 2.79 [95% CI 1.47–5.31]). Hypertriglyceridemic waist phenotype can be a potential and cost-effective method to identify individuals with a high risk of fatty liver and glycometabolic disorders.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic has re-focused the adverse effects of obesity and diabetes on the general health status of individuals
Overweight/obese individuals with similar levels of adiposity measured by body mass index (BMI) or waist circumference (WC) can display different metabolic profiles characterized by lipid, insulin, and glucose concentrations[6]
In the current cross-sectional study, we found that the hypertriglyceridemic waist phenotype was independently associated with a 4.1-fold higher risk to develop fatty liver, twofold increased insulin resistance, and 2.8-fold elevated HbA1c than those with normal TG and WC in Chinese overweight/obese adults
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has re-focused the adverse effects of obesity and diabetes on the general health status of individuals. It has been speculated that there is less effectiveness and more risk following vaccination in preventing 2019 novel coronavirus among obese individuals[2,3] These remind us that obesity and diabetes have brought pathophysiological changes to the biological systems of the human body. Hypertriglyceridemic waist phenotype has been proposed as a cost-effective method of screening in clinical practice to overcome the major barriers of the high cost of measuring visceral adiposity and insulin[9]. The association between the hypertriglyceridemic waist phenotype and fatty liver disease needs further scientific investigation. The purpose of this study was to distinguish the relationships between the hypertriglyceridemic waist phenotype and the risk of developing fatty liver and associated abnormal glycometabolic profiles in overweight/ obese adults. It was hypothesized that the hypertriglyceridemic waist phenotype could be associated with a high prevalence of fatty liver and glycometabolic disorders
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