Abstract: Objective To explore the correlation between visceral fat area(VFA) and the prevalence of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) in the elderly patients aged ≥70 years. Methods A total of 243 elderly patients aged ≥70 years were enrolled. Body composition was measured using bioelectrical impedance analysis, and participants were divided into the ASCVD group and the non-ASCVD group based on their presence or absence of ASCVD. Differences in baseline characteristics between the two groups were analyzed. The chi-square test was employed to compare the prevalence of ASCVD among VFA quartiles; multivariate logistic regression was conducted to identify independent risk factors for ASCVD; and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to evaluate the predictive value of VFA for ASCVD. Results The prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, body fat mass index (FMI), body fat percentage (PBF), and visceral fat area (VFA) were all higher in the ASCVD group than those in the non-ASCVD group (P<0.05). Inter-quarterile comparisons of VFA revealed a significant upward trend in ASCVD prevalence with increasing VFA levels (P<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified VFA (OR=1.018,95%CI: 1.011-1.025, P=0.033) and diabetes (OR=1.897,95%CI: 1.012-3.559, P=0.046) as independent risk factors for ASCVD in elderly patients aged ≥70 years. The area under ROC curve of VFA in predicting ASCVD was 0.710 (95%CI: 0.644-0.776, P<0.001). Conclusions In elderly patients aged ≥70 years, ASCVD prevalence increases with higher VFA scores, confirming VFA as an independent risk factor for ASCVD.

Key words: atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, visceral fat area, bioelectrical impedance analysis