Body Roundness Index May Predict Cardiovascular Disease Risk

A large-scale study in China has revealed that the body roundness index (BRI), a measure reflecting abdominal fat and body shape, may be a powerful predictor of cardiovascular disease risk in adults over 45 years old. The research, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, analyzed data from nearly 10,000 participants over a six-year period.

The study found that individuals with consistently higher BRI levels had a significantly increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, with those in the high-stable BRI group showing a 163% higher risk compared to those in the low-stable group. This association remained significant even after accounting for various demographic, medical, and lifestyle factors.

BRI, which combines waist circumference and height measurements, is believed by some health professionals to better reflect the proportion of body fat and visceral fat compared to the more commonly used body mass index (BMI). This study's findings suggest that BRI could be a valuable tool for assessing cardiovascular risk, potentially offering advantages over traditional measures.

The research utilized data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, tracking participants across 28 provinces. During the follow-up period from 2017 to 2020, researchers recorded 3,052 cardiovascular events and 894 cardiovascular deaths among the study participants.

Importantly, the study's results remained robust even when accounting for other health measures such as blood pressure, blood glucose, and cholesterol levels. This suggests that BRI may offer unique insights into cardiovascular risk beyond these traditional markers.

While the study focused on a Chinese population and had some limitations, including self-reported diagnoses, its findings could have significant implications for global cardiovascular health strategies. As obesity continues to be a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease worldwide, tools like BRI that can more accurately assess abdominal obesity may prove crucial in identifying at-risk individuals and implementing preventive measures.

The study's senior author, Dr. Yun Qian, emphasized that this is the first large study to evaluate BRI over time in relation to cardiovascular disease incidence. The results suggest that monitoring BRI trajectories could potentially be used as a predictive factor for cardiovascular disease risk, although more research is needed to confirm these findings and explore their practical applications in clinical settings.

As cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death globally, with nearly 20 million deaths annually, the potential for BRI to enhance risk assessment and prevention strategies could have far-reaching impacts on public health. Healthcare professionals and policymakers may need to consider incorporating BRI measurements into routine health screenings and risk assessments, particularly for middle-aged and older adults.