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. 2024 Jul 9;24(1):1827.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-19358-0.

The association between the visceral to subcutaneous abdominal fat ratio and the risk of cardiovascular diseases: a systematic review

Hadi Emamat  1   2 , Ali Jamshidi  3 , Akram Farhadi  3 , Hamid Ghalandari  4 , Mohadeseh Ghasemi  5 , Hadith Tangestani  6
Affiliations

The association between the visceral to subcutaneous abdominal fat ratio and the risk of cardiovascular diseases: a systematic review

Hadi Emamat et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the primary cause of mortality globally. The prevalence of obesity is rising worldwide; there seems to be a significant positive association between obesity and CVDs. The distribution of fat in the abdominal area in the form of visceral (VAT) or subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) affects the risk of CVDs. The aim of the present study was to conduct a systematic review of the available literature regarding the association between the VAT-to-SAT ratio and CVDs.

Methods: A comprehensive search strategy was used to retrieve all human observational studies indexed in PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar databases/search engines (from Jan 2000 up to Oct 2023). The VAT-to-SAT or SAT-to-VAT ratio was an independent variable and various cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and heart failure, were considered as outcomes of interest.

Results: Out of 1173 initial studies, 910 papers were screened. Based on the inclusion criteria, 883 papers were excluded. Finally, 27 papers (18 cross-sectional and 9 cohort studies) published between 2010 and 2023 which met the inclusion criteria were reviewed.

Conclusions: The distribution of abdominal fat seems to be associated with the risk of CVDs; the majority of the evidence suggests that a higher abdominal VAT-to-SAT ratio is associated with the development of CVDs. Therefore, this ratio can be used as a prognostic indicator for CVDs.

Trial registration: Not applicable.

Keywords: Abdominal fat; Cardiovascular diseases; Obesity; Subcutaneous fat; Visceral fat; Visceral to subcutaneous fat ratio.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
PRISMA flow diagram of review process
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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