Association between visceral lipid accumulation indicators and gallstones: a cross-sectional study based on NHANES 2017–2020

• Published in: Lipids in health and disease Vol. 23; no. 1; pp. 345 - 13
• Main Authors: Wu, Weigen, Pei, Yuchen, Wang, Junlong, Liang, Qizhi, Chen, Wei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 25.10.2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adipose tissues; Adult; Aged; Care and treatment; Cross-Sectional Studies; Cross-sectional study; Diagnosis; Female; Gallstones; Gallstones - metabolism; Health aspects; Humans; Intra-Abdominal Fat - metabolism; Intra-Abdominal Fat - pathology; LASSO; Lipid accumulation; Lipid Accumulation Product; Lipid metabolism; Male; Middle Aged; NHANES; Nomograms; Nutrition Surveys; Obesity - metabolism; Risk Factors; ROC Curve; Waist Circumference; China; Gallstones; Lipid accumulation; NHANES; Cross-sectional study; LASSO
• ISSN: 1476-511X; 1476-511X
• DOI: 10.1186/s12944-024-02319-2

Obesity is a major contributing factor to the formation of gallstones. As early identification typically results in improved outcomes, we explored the relationship between visceral lipid accumulation indicators and the occurrence of gallstones. This cross-sectional study involved 3,224 adults. The researchers employed multivariable logistic regression, smoothed curve fitting (SCF), threshold effects analysis, and subgroup analysis to examine the relationship between metabolic scores for visceral fat (METS-VF), waist circumference (WC), lipid accumulation products (LAP), and visceral adiposity index (VAI) and gallstones. A Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression analysis was used to identify key factors which were then used in the construction of a nomogram model. The diagnostic efficacy of this model in detecting gallstones was then determined using receiver operating characteristic curves. Visceral lipid accumulation indicators were strongly linked to the likelihood of having gallstones. Specific saturation effects for METS-VF, WC, LAP, and VAI and gallstones were determined using SCF. The inflection points for these effects were found to be 8.565, 108.400, 18.056, and 1.071, respectively. Subgroup analyses showed that associations remained consistent in most subgroups. The nomogram model, which was developed using critical features identified by LASSO regression, demonstrated excellent discriminatory ability, as indicated by an area under the curve value of 0.725. Studies have shown that increases in METS-VF, WC, LAP, and VAI are linked to increased prevalences of gallstones. The nomogram model, designed with critical parameters identified using LASSO regression, exhibits a strong association with the presence of gallstones.