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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition and Metabolism
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1549047
Association between the skeletal muscle-to-visceral fat ratio and kidney stones: a cross-sectional study
Provisionally accepted- 1Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China
- 2Department of Urology, Second Affiliated Hospital of University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan Province, China
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Objective: Prior research has suggested links between skeletal muscle mass and visceral fat volume with kidney stone formation. However, the link between the skeletal muscle-to-visceral fat ratio (SVR) and kidney stone risk remains to be clarified. This study aims to explore the relationship between SVR and the risk of kidney stones, analyzing data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).The research encompassed 8,522 individuals from NHANES surveys from 2011 to 2018. Kidney stones were diagnosed through a standardized questionnaire, and SVR was calculated using dualenergy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Participants were grouped into quartiles based on their SVR. All data underwent weighting according to official guidelines. Logistic regression models assessed the correlation between SVR and kidney stone incidence, and subgroup analysis was employed to investigate its stability.Results: Among the participants, 675 individuals, representing 8.73%, received a diagnosis of kidney stones, with an average age of 39.29 years (±0.28). Findings indicate that lower SVR correlates with increased kidney stone risk. Within the comprehensively adjusted multivariate model, compared to the lowest SVR quartile, the second, third, and fourth quartiles demonstrated significantly reduced risks, with ORs of 0.63 (95% CI=0.47-0.84), 0.57 (95% CI=0.42-0.79), and 0.39 (95% CI=0.25-0.61), respectively. Restricted cubic spline (RCS) regression models demonstrated a nonlinear relationship between SVR and kidney stone risk. The subgroup analysis demonstrated no significant differences in weighted associations across subgroups (interaction p-value > 0.05), except for BMI, which had a significant interaction (interaction p-value < 0.05).The findings underscore that lower SVR correlates with increased kidney stone risk, a relationship that remains consistent across most demographics.
Keywords: Skeletal muscle-to-visceral fat ratio, Kidney Stones, NHANES, Cross-sectional study, skeletal muscle, visceral fat
Received: 20 Dec 2024; Accepted: 14 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Du, Yang, Zhang and Liu. 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:
Chi-Teng Zhang, Department of Urology, Second Affiliated Hospital of University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan Province, China
Yi-Fu Liu, Department of Urology, Second Affiliated Hospital of University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan Province, China
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