Association of Visceral Adiposity Index, Lipid Profile, and Serum Leptin with Glucose Intolerance Risks in Iraqi Obese Patients: A Cross-sectional Study

Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the possibility of using visceral adiposity index (VAI), serum leptin, and lipid profile as indicators of impaired glucose tolerance in Iraqi obese patients. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in Iraqi obese patients of both sexes. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, hip circumference, triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), VAI, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), serum leptin, and 2-h glucose tolerance test (2-h GT) were determined and compared with those of healthy non-obese control group. A correlation analysis was performed to determine the strength of association between the studied markers. Data were adjusted to determine gender differences in this regard. Statistical Analysis: Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Shapiro-Wilk analyses, Mann-Whitney U test, and unpaired t test were used for the two-group comparisons once applicable. Pearson's and Spearman's correlation analyses were used to measure the relationship levels between the studied variables. Results: A total of 144 obese patients were included; the mean age was 37.11 +/- 8.2 years and 92 (63.9%) were females. Compared with non-obese subjects, the participants had significantly higher levels of BMI, WC, WHR, VAI, TG, leptin, and 2-h GTObese male subjects had significantly higher values of body weight, WC, HC, VAI, and TG compared with obese females. Elevated 2-h GT was significantly associated with VAI (r = 0.291, P = 0.0004), TG (r = 0.319, P = 0.0001), and LDL-C/HDL-C ratio (r = 0.435, P < 0.0001) in the obese patients only. Conclusions: The results provide evidence that VAI, TG, and LDL-C/HDL-C ratio can be suggested as potential markers for the risk assessment of impaired glucose tolerance in Iraqi obese patients.