Body Composition And Vascular Markers Of Cardiac Risk In Collegiate Students

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of mortality and is associated with obesity, metabolic syndrome, and other comorbidities. Excess adiposity has been shown to increase CVD risk. Understanding how body composition predicts vascular markers of cardiac risk may improve CVD prevention strategies. PURPOSE: to examine the impact of body composition on vascular markers of cardiac risk in collegiate students. METHODS: A total of 307 healthy, young adults with a mean age of 20.5 years (male = 112, female N = 195) volunteered to complete an evaluation of body composition (total adiposity, visceral adipose tissue (VAT), and muscle mass) and vascular markers of cardiac risk (carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), cardiac augmentation index, and mean arterial pressure (MAP)). Multivariate linear regression tests were used to determine predictors of cardiac risk for the total sample and by gender, independently. RESULTS: Based on the multiple regression for cAIX, after controlling for all other variables skeletal muscle mass (b = -1.06, p = .02) and visceral adipose tissue (b = -7.80, p = .01) both significantly predicted the outcome. Significant interaction effects emerged between sex and skeletal muscle mass (b = 1.22, p < 0.05) and between sex and visceral adipose tissue (b = 7.47, p = 0.01). For mean arterial pressure, no predictors were significant. Based on the multiple regression for cfPWV, all predictors had significant effects on the outcome (p < 0.05). Additionally, all interaction effects were significant, indicating that male participants were more strongly impacted by skeletal muscle mass (p < 0.05) and visceral adipose tissue (p < 0.05), and female participants were more impacted by body fat percentage (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Body composition is associated with vascular markers of cardiac risk in young adult populations. Future studies should continue to investigate the impact of body composition on CVD risk and clinical outcomes.