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The role of the visceral adiposity index in the assessment of metabolic syndrome of polycystic ovary syndrome patients: a new anthropometric index

  • Gynecologic Endocrinology and Reproductive Medicine
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder often linked to metabolic syndrome (MS), raising the risk of cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes. Certain indicators, such as the lipid accumulation product (LAP) and homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), can predict MS in PCOS patients. This study aimed to assess the predictive power of the visceral adiposity index (VAI) in comparison to LAP and HOMA-IR as predictors of MS in PCOS patients.

Methods

In this cross-sectional observational study, data from 317 diagnosed PCOS women were analyzed. VAI, LAP, and HOMA-IR were computed as indexes. Participants were categorized into two groups for index accuracy comparison: PCOS patients with and without MS. The data were assessed using a ROC curve.

Results

Among PCOS women with MS, 92.3% had abnormal VAI results, 94.5% had abnormal LAP results, and only 50.5% had abnormal HOMA-IR results. Conversely, the majority of PCOS women without MS had normal HOMA-IR (64.6%). When comparing these indexes using the ROC curve, VAI displayed the highest accuracy, followed by LAP and HOMA-IR.

Conclusion

The VAI index proved to be a superior predictor of metabolic MS in PCOS women when compared to other indexes.

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Data availability

Data supporting this paper are available on request.

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Funding

This study and all authors have received no funding.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

    Ana Luiza L. Rocha, Thais Baêta, Isabel R. Nazareth, Julia M. Costa, Julia D. Caporalli, Maraisa A. Oliveira, Marina G. Couto, Flávia R. Oliveira & Fernando M. Reis

  2. Division of Human Reproduction, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Av. Alfredo Balena, 110 – 9° Andar, Belo Horizonte, MG, 30130-100, Brazil

    Ana Luiza L. Rocha

  3. Department of Internal Medicine, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

    Rosana C. Azevedo, Fábio V. Comim & Ana L. Cândido

Authors
  1. Ana Luiza L. Rocha
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  2. Thais Baêta
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  3. Isabel R. Nazareth
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  4. Julia M. Costa
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  6. Maraisa A. Oliveira
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  7. Marina G. Couto
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  8. Rosana C. Azevedo
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  10. Flávia R. Oliveira
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  11. Fernando M. Reis
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  12. Ana L. Cândido
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Contributions

BT: conceptualization, data curation, writing—original draft preparation; NIR; CJM; CJD; OMA; CMG: data curation, writing—original draft preparation; ARC: conceptualization, data curation, writing—review & editing; OFR: data curation—original draft preparation; CFV: data curation, writing—original draft preparation; CAL: project administration, supervision, writing—review & editing; RFM and R ALL: conceptualization, data curation, methodology, supervision, writing—review & editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ana Luiza L. Rocha.

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Rocha, A.L., Baêta, T., Nazareth, I.R. et al. The role of the visceral adiposity index in the assessment of metabolic syndrome of polycystic ovary syndrome patients: a new anthropometric index. Arch Gynecol Obstet 309, 1643–1649 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-023-07328-7

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