Sign in Subscribe
Mortality

Advanced Anthropometric Measurements Enhance Understanding of Adiposity-Related Health Risks

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

A new study has shed light on the relationship between adiposity and health-related outcomes by examining the discriminatory performance of anthropometric indicators derived from bioimpedance analysis (BIA) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The research, published in BMC Medicine, utilized data from 40,338 participants in the UK Biobank imaging sub-study to evaluate the relationship between adiposity indicators and various health-related outcomes, including all-cause mortality, cardiovascular diseases, obesity-related cancer, overall cancer, and type 2 diabetes.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study found that MRI-derived organ morphometry indicators moderately improved risk discrimination for type 2 diabetes (cross-validated C-index increased from 0.83 [95% CI: 0.81, 0.84] to 0.85 [0.83, 0.86]; adjusted p = 4.05E - 6) and obesity-related cancers (from 0.59 [0.57, 0.62] to 0.61 [0.59, 0.64]), albeit with borderline significance (adjusted p = 0.053).
  • The inclusion of BIA indicators in the study generally did not lead to improved discriminatory power for any health-related outcome.
  • The study suggests that MRI-derived organ morphometry indicators may provide information beyond basic anthropometric indicators for the assessment of adiposity and its association with risk of some health-related outcomes.
  • The research involved 40,338 participants from the UK Biobank imaging sub-study, who underwent anthropometric measurements derived from BIA and abdominal MRI.
  • The study evaluated the relationship between adiposity indicators and various health-related outcomes using Cox models adjusted for established risk factors.

Statistics:

  • The study used data from 40,338 participants in the UK Biobank imaging sub-study.
  • MRI-derived organ morphometry indicators moderately improved risk discrimination for type 2 diabetes, with a cross-validated C-index of 0.85 [0.83, 0.86] compared to 0.83 [0.81, 0.84] for basic anthropometric indicators (adjusted p = 4.05E - 6).
  • The inclusion of BIA indicators in the study generally did not lead to improved discriminatory power for any health-related outcome.

Sources:

  • Adiposity, mortality, and disease risk: insights from bioimpedance analysis and magnetic resonance imaging. BMC Medicine, 2025;23(1):550.
  • Heinz Freisling et al. Recent Findings from Heinz Freisling and Co-Authors Provide New Insights into Type 2 Diabetes (Adiposity, mortality, and disease risk: insights from bioimpedance analysis and magnetic resonance imaging). Obesity & Diabetes Week. October 20, 2025; p 94.

Read more