Assessment of Obesity Indices and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Pilot study from a Tertiary care centre in India

Background: The ability of obesity indices to predict cardiovascular risk in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is still debated. This study aims to assess cardiovascular risk factors with anthropometric characterization and obesity indices. Methods: In this observational cross-sectional study, a total of 181 T2DM patients were recruited. Patients were divided based on body mass index (BMI), where normal weight was classified as Group 1 with BMI < 25 kg/m2, n = 94; and overweight as group 2 with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2, n = 87. Various parameters and their correlations were assessed such as body adiposity index (BAI), visceral adiposity index (VAI), waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), waist/hip ratio (WHR), waist/height ratio (WHtR), Fasting blood sugar (FBS), Postprandial blood sugar (PPBS), ankle-brachial index (ABI) and cardiovascular disease risk factors. Results: Out of 181 T2DM patients, 54.1% of the patients were male. Females had higher mean HC, WHtR, BAI, VAI (all P < 0.001), and WC but lower mean height (P < 0.001), weight (P < 0.05), and WHR. Group 2 patients had higher weight, WC, HC, WHtR, and BAI (all P < 0.001) in comparison to Group 1. Among obesity indices, VAI showed the highest correlation (all P < 0.05) with cardiovascular risk factors. Conclusion: Among all obesity indices VAI showed the highest correlation with cardiovascular risk factors, thus routine measurement of VAI in the clinical setting is advised for the evaluation of T2DM-related complications and cardiovascular risk factors, particularly in women.