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Sagittal abdominal diameter and abdominal aortic calcification are associated with incident major adverse cardiovascular events: The Manitoba Bone Density Registry.

March 26, 2026pubmed logopapers

Authors

Abraha HN,Gebre AK,Sim M,Smith C,Gilani SZ,Ilyas Z,Zarzour F,Schousboe JT,Lix LM,Binkley N,Reid S,Monchka BA,Kimelman D,Lewis JR,Leslie WD

Affiliations (10)

  • Nutrition & Health Innovation Research Institute, School of Medical and Health Science, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia; College of Health Sciences, Mekelle University, Mekelle, Ethiopia.
  • Nutrition & Health Innovation Research Institute, School of Medical and Health Science, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • Nutrition & Health Innovation Research Institute, School of Medical and Health Science, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia; Medical School, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.
  • Nutrition & Health Innovation Research Institute, School of Medical and Health Science, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia; School of Science, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia; Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.
  • Nutrition & Health Innovation Research Institute, School of Medical and Health Science, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia; School of Science, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia.
  • Department of Internal Medicine and Radiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.
  • HealthPartners, Park Nicollet Clinic and HealthPartners Institute, Minneapolis, USA; Division of Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA.
  • Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA.
  • Department of Computer Science, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.
  • George and Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.

Abstract

Sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD), a measure of visceral adiposity, has been linked to major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). However, the relationship between SAD and abdominal aortic calcification (AAC), a marker of subclinical vascular disease, and whether they independently and jointly predict MACE remains unclear. To investigate whether weight-normalized SAD and AAC scored using a validated machine learning algorithm (ML-AAC24) are independently and jointly associated with incident MACE. SAD and ML-AAC24 were measured from dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) posteroanterior and lateral spine images, respectively, from the Manitoba Bone Density registry. Among 8806 individuals (mean age 75.1 ± 6.6 years, 93.9% women), 11.3% experienced MACE during a mean follow-up of 3.8 years. SAD/weight and ML-AAC24 were positively correlated (Spearman r = 0.11, P < 0.001). Individuals with moderate and high ML-AAC24 had 1.1% and 3.0% higher mean SAD/weight, respectively, than those with low ML-AAC24. Both ML-AAC24 and SAD/weight were independently associated with higher risk of MACE. Adjusted hazard ratios [HRs] for MACE were 1.45, 95%CI 1.24-1.71 and 1.99, 95%CI 1.67-2.35 for moderate and high ML-AAC24, respectively, vs. low. The HR for the highest vs. lowest tertile of SAD/weight was 1.37, 95%CI 1.16-1.61. Individuals who had both high ML-AAC24 and were in the highest SAD/weight tertile had the highest MACE risk (HR 2.63, 95% CI 2.02-3.44). Higher baseline SAD/weight was associated with higher ML-AAC24 scores. Both measures independently and jointly associated with MACE. Their combined use may potentially help identify individuals at high risk for cardiovascular disease during routine bone density testing.

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