Prevention & lipidsCross-sectional study
Sex-specific body fat distribution predicts cardiovascular ageing
- Cross-sectional study
- UK Biobank
- machine learning
- two-sample Mendelian randomization
Authors' conclusion
Shared and sex-specific patterns of body fat are associated with both protective and harmful changes in cardiovascular ageing
Study context
- Population
- UK Biobank participants with cardiovascular and whole-body imaging
- Participants
- 21,241 participants
- Outcome
- Cardiovascular age-delta (ML-predicted cardiovascular age from 126 imaging traits minus chronological age)
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Association of fat phenotypes with increased CV age-delta (both sexes)
- Visceral adipose tissue volume
- β 0.656 (95% CI .537-.775); P < 0.0001
- Muscle adipose tissue infiltration
- β 0.183 (95% CI .122-.244); P = 0.0003
- Liver fat fraction
- β 1.066 (95% CI .835-1.298); P < 0.0001
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | β (95% CI) | P value |
|---|---|---|
| Association with increased CV age-delta, males only — Abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue volume | 0.432 (.269-.596) | P < 0.0001 |
| Association with increased CV age-delta, males only — Android fat mass | 0.983 (.64-1.326) | P < 0.0001 |
Genetically predicted gynoid fat (Mendelian randomization)
- Associated with decreased CV age-delta
Original publication
Sex-specific body fat distribution predicts cardiovascular ageing. Eur Heart J. Published 22 August 2025. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf553
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it