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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Med.
Sec. Hepatobiliary Diseases
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1474368

Elevated Metabolic Score for Visceral Fat was associated with Increased Prevalence of Gallstones in American Adults: A Cross-sectional Study

Provisionally accepted
Hao Lin Hao Lin Kexuan Shi Kexuan Shi Shuang Luo Shuang Luo Wu Ye Wu Ye Xiaoniao Cai Xiaoniao Cai *
  • Pingyang Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Metabolic Visceral Fat Score (METS-VF) recently introduced is posited to be a superior metric for assessing visceral adipose tissues (VAT) compared to traditional obesity indexes. This study aims to elucidate the correlation between METS-VF and the incidence of gallstones. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) during the period from 2013 to 2020 were analyzed. And the correlation between METS-VF and the incidence of gallstones was explored through multivariate logistic regression analysis, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, subgroup analysis and restricted cubic spline (RCS) regression. Results: This study included 5975 participants, of whom 645 (10.8%) were gallstone formers. As the quartile range of METS-VF increased, a notable rise in the prevalence of gallstones was observed (3.2% vs. 7.4% vs. 12.1% vs. 20.6%, p<0.001). Logistic regression analyses indicated a significant positive correlation between METS-VF and the risk of gallstones (OR=3.075, 95% CI: 2.158, 4.381). Subgroup analyses further revealed a stronger correlation between gallstones and METS-VF in subjects over 50 years old. RCS regression identified a non-linear positive correlation, with an inflection point at 6.698. Finally, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) of METS-VF was significantly larger (AUC=0.705, 95%: 0.685, 0.725) than those of traditional obesity indexes and other VAT surrogate markers. Conclusion: This study is the first to reveal a significant positive correlation between the prevalence of gallstones and METS-VF, with METS-VF outperforming other VAT surrogate markers in the diagnosis of gallstones.

    Keywords: Insulin Resistance, Obesity, METS-VF, Gallstones, visceral adipose tissue

    Received: 20 Aug 2024; Accepted: 28 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Lin, Shi, Luo, Ye and Cai. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Xiaoniao Cai, Pingyang Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.