Comparison of Visceral Adiposity and Plasma Atherogenicity Indices, Which are Cardiovascular Risk Markers in Hypothyroid Patients and Healthy Controls.

Purpose: Hypothyroidism increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. In recent years, it has been suggested that the Visceral Adiposity Index (VAI) and the Plasma Atherogenicity Index (PAI) may serve as markers of cardiovascular risk. This study aimed to investigate the potential utility of VAI and PAI as predictors of increased cardiovascular risk in patients with hypothyroidism.

Patients and methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 134 participants, including 85 hypothyroid patients and 49 individuals with normal thyroid function who visited the Family Medicine Clinic of Konya Training and Research Hospital between March 2016 and June 2017. Sociodemographic characteristics, anthropometric measurements, blood lipid profiles, and thyroid hormone levels were analyzed for all participants. VAI and PAI levels were calculated.

Results: Among the participants, 111 (82.8%) were female, and 23 (17.2%) were male. In the hypothyroid group, triglycerides (TG) (p=0.001), Visceral Adiposity Index (VAI) (p<0.001), and Plasma Atherogenic Index (PAI) (p<0.001) were significantly higher, in contrast high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (p<0.001) was substantially lower than in the control group. Patients were divided into three categories based on PAI levels: low, moderate, and high risk. Compared to the moderate-risk group, the high-risk group had higher weight (p=0.007), BMI (p=0.012), WC (p=0.001), TG (p<0.001), VAI (p<0.001), and PAI (p<0.001), but lower HDL (p<0.001). PAI showed a positive correlation with age, weight, BMI, WC, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), TG, total cholesterol, and VAI, and a negative correlation with HDL.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates that cardiovascular risk is increased in hypothyroid patients, VAI and PAI are reliable markers for assessing cardiovascular disease risk in this population. These findings may aid primary care physicians in early identification and management of cardiovascular risk in hypothyroid patients. Limitations include the retrospective design and limited male representation in the sample.