Visceral adiposity index is a better predictor of type 2 diabetes than body mass index in Qatari population

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) has increased recently in Qatar. Body mass index (BMI) is a predictor of T2D in many populations. However, BMI is based on height and weight measurements and not on body adiposity. Therefore, the utility of BMI for predicting the risk of T2D has been questioned. Visceral adiposity appears to be a better predictor of T2D. This study aimed to assess the relative effectiveness of visceral adiposity index (VAI) and body adiposity index (BAI), in comparison with BMI, for T2D among Qatari adults. A random sample of 1103 adult Qatari nationals and long term residents over 20 years old were included in this study. This data were obtained from the Qatar Biobank (QBB). We performed a multivariate logistic regression to examine the association between VAI, BAI, BMI, and T2D, and computed z-scores for VAI, BAI and BMI. VAI z-scores showed the strongest association with the risk of T2D (OR, 1.44; 95% CI: 1.24–1.68) compared with the z-scores for BAI (OR, 1.15; 95% CI: 0.93–1.43) and BMI (OR, 1.33; 95% CI: 1.11–1.59). ROC curve analysis showed that VAI was a stronger predictor than BAI and BMI (P < .0001). Subgroup analysis indicated that the association was stronger between VAI and T2D in Qatari women than in men. VAI was a stronger and an independent predictor of T2D compared to BAI and BMI among the Qatari adult population. Therefore, VAI could be a useful tool for predicting the risk of T2D among Qatari adults.