Metabolic signatures of adiposity indices in females and males associated with clinical biomarkers in the UK Biobank
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Papagiannopoulos, Christos K
Markozannes, Georgios
Chalitsios, Christos V
Christakoudi, Sofia
Gunter, Marc J
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Background: Excessive adiposity increases disease risk, however, the metabolic processes underlying these associations remain incompletely understood.
Methods: We compared metabolic signatures (MSs) of adiposity indices (non-allometric: body fat %, waist circumference, hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, body mass index; allometric: a body shape index
[ABSI], hip index [HI], waist-to-HI ratio) by sex and examined their cross-sectional associations with 29 clinical biomarkers in 151,526 UK Biobank participants. MSs performance was validated in an independent cohort.
Findings: In females, MSs mainly consisted of lipoprotein particle concentrations, apolipoproteins, fatty acids and inflammation-linked glycoprotein acetyls, whereas in males lipoproteins rich in cholesteryl esters and aromatic/branched-chain amino acids predominated. The highest percentages of common metabolites were observed between non-allometric adiposity indices (median: 42.4%; range: 9%–56%). MSs were
independently associated with over 25 biomarkers with differences observed by sex and adiposity index, and these associations were stronger compared to the respective phenotypic associations.
Interpretation: MSABSI was found to be more atherogenic, whereas MSHI was more favourable for health.
This study highlights i) that different regions of adipose tissue undergo distinct metabolic processes overall
and by sex, each having unique impact on health, and ii) the importance of considering metabolic factors
beyond simple adiposity indices in assessing health risk.
Methods: We compared metabolic signatures (MSs) of adiposity indices (non-allometric: body fat %, waist circumference, hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, body mass index; allometric: a body shape index
[ABSI], hip index [HI], waist-to-HI ratio) by sex and examined their cross-sectional associations with 29 clinical biomarkers in 151,526 UK Biobank participants. MSs performance was validated in an independent cohort.
Findings: In females, MSs mainly consisted of lipoprotein particle concentrations, apolipoproteins, fatty acids and inflammation-linked glycoprotein acetyls, whereas in males lipoproteins rich in cholesteryl esters and aromatic/branched-chain amino acids predominated. The highest percentages of common metabolites were observed between non-allometric adiposity indices (median: 42.4%; range: 9%–56%). MSs were
independently associated with over 25 biomarkers with differences observed by sex and adiposity index, and these associations were stronger compared to the respective phenotypic associations.
Interpretation: MSABSI was found to be more atherogenic, whereas MSHI was more favourable for health.
This study highlights i) that different regions of adipose tissue undergo distinct metabolic processes overall
and by sex, each having unique impact on health, and ii) the importance of considering metabolic factors
beyond simple adiposity indices in assessing health risk.
Date Acceptance
2025-07-15
Citation
EBioMedicine
ISSN
2352-3964
Publisher
Elsevier
Journal / Book Title
EBioMedicine
Copyright Statement
Copyright This paper is embargoed until publication. Once published the author’s accepted manuscript will be made available under a CC-BY License in accordance with Imperial’s Research Publications Open Access policy (www.imperial.ac.uk/oa-policy).
License URL
Publication Status
Accepted