Visceral adiposity and the prevalence of glucose intolerance: A predictive cut-off value

Background: The Visceral Adiposity Index (VAI) is a sex-specific mathematical index indirectly expressing visceral adipose function and insulin sensitivity. Our aim was to find the optimal cut-off points of VAI identifying a visceral adipose dysfunction (VAD) associated with glucose intolerance. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional research that carried out on the 508 subjects (212 males and 296 females) using random collection sampling technique. FBG was measured in the morning after a 12-hour fast and the examination included also a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test and anthropometric measurements. Receiver operating characteristic curve and area under curve were applied to compare the ability of identifying impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and diabetes risk and VAI. Results: As whole, the mean of VAI in subjects with abnormal glucose (2.5 ± 0.94 mg/dl) was higher than in subjects with normal glucose tolerance tests (1.65 ± 0.56 mg/dl). Also, the mean of VAI in DM was higher than in IGT (2.94 + 0.94 versus 2.79 + 0.96). There were positively correlation between VAI and fasting and postprandial glucose (P=<0.001 for both). The cut-off points of VAI for screening and diagnosis of glucose intolerance are 1.7677 and 2.5579, respectively. Conclusion: Greater visceral adiposity increases the risk of IGT and DM. Also, our study suggests that among our subjects there is clear cut-off points of VAI able to identify a VAD strongly associated with glucose intolerance. VAI is useable as a predictor of glucose intolerance and type 2 DM risk among adults.