Background and Aims. Visceral adiposity index (VAI) is a novel marker of fat distribution and function which incorporates both anthropometric and laboratory measures. Recently, several studies have suggested VAI as a screening tool for metabolic syndrome (MetS). Here, we aimed to consolidate the results of these studies by performing a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods and Results. We searched PubMed and EMBASE online databases for eligible studies that investigated the association of VAI and MetS. After reviewing 294 records, we included 33 eligible papers with a sum of 20516 MetS and 53242 healthy participants. The risk of bias in the included studies was assessed, and the relevant data was extracted. All included studies reported a significant association between VAI and MetS screening, but were highly heterogeneous in their reported effects. We pooled the diagnostic test accuracy metrics of VAI for MetS screening and showed that it has a moderate-to-high accuracy with an area under the summary receiver operating characteristics curve of 0.847, a pooled sensitivity of 78%, and a pooled specificity of 79%. Besides, we pooled the difference in means of VAI between patients with MetS and healthy controls, revealing that VAI was 2.15 units higher in MetS patients. Conclusions. VAI is an accurate, low-cost, and widely available screening marker for MetS. However, further studies are needed to evaluate its applicability in clinical practice, determine an optimal cut-off, and identify populations that would benefit the most from it.

中文翻译：

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内脏肥胖指数筛查代谢综合征的准确性：系统评价和荟萃分析

背景和目标。内脏肥胖指数（VAI）是脂肪分布和功能的新型标志，结合了人体测量和实验室测量。最近，多项研究建议 VAI 作为代谢综合征 (MetS) 的筛查工具。在这里，我们的目的是通过进行系统回顾和荟萃分析来巩固这些研究的结果。方法和结果。我们在 PubMed 和 EMBASE 在线数据库中搜索了调查 VAI 和 MetS 关联的合格研究。在审查了 294 条记录后，我们纳入了 33 篇符合条件的论文，总计 20516 名 MetS 和 53242 名健康参与者。对纳入研究的偏倚风险进行评估，并提取相关数据。所有纳入的研究都报告了 VAI 和 MetS 筛查之间存在显着关联，但其报告的效果存在高度异质性。我们汇总了用于 MetS 筛查的 VAI 诊断测试准确性指标，结果显示其具有中等到高准确性，汇总受试者工作特征曲线下面积为 0.847，汇总敏感性为 78%，汇总特异性为 79 %。此外，我们汇总了 MetS 患者和健康对照之间 VAI 平均值的差异，结果显示 MetS 患者的 VAI 高出 2.15 个单位。结论。VAI 是一种准确、低成本且广泛使用的 MetS 筛选标记。然而，还需要进一步的研究来评估其在临床实践中的适用性，确定最佳截止值，并确定从中受益最大的人群。