Application of conicity index adjusted total body fat in young adults-a novel method to assess metabolic diseases risk

The aim of the study was to evaluate the usefulness of conicity index (CI) adjusted total body fat (TBF), which was defined as TBF/CI, in various metabolic diseases in young adults. A cross-sectional study was carried out in Chinese PLA General Hospital and a total of 1365 young adults (age 20–40 years) who underwent a health check-up examination were finally included in the analysis from February 2016 to 2017. Linear Regression and logistic regression were used to further examine relationship between the index and metabolic diseases. The average age was 34.5 years. Odds Ratios (ORs) for the risk of metabolic diseases increased from the lowest to highest TBF/CI quartile (all P trends < 0.001). Young adults with increased TBF/CI had higher risk of hyperhomocysteinemia (Hhcy) (OR = 1.528, 95% confidence interval = 1.057–2.209). There was a 1.407 increase in the odds of obesity, a 1.112 increase in the odds of hyperlipidemia (HLP) and a 1.094 increase in the odds of diabetes mellitus (DM) per standard deviation (SD) increase in TBF/CI (all P < 0.001). TBF/CI showed higher predictive values for obesity, HLP, DM and Hhcy than weight adjusted total body fat (all P < 0.001). Young adults with increased TBF/CI had higher ratios of metabolic diseases, which suggested that TBF/CI can be a good indicator and had a close relationship with metabolic diseases.