Associations between metabolic obesity phenotypes and incident cardiovascular disease in middle-aged and elderly Chinese individuals

BACKGROUND: Although the relationship between cardiovascular disease (CVD) and body weight and metabolic health is well established, limited research has comprehensively examined how combined metabolic status and obesity phenotypes—defined using body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC)—influence CVD risk. This study investigates the associations between metabolic obesity phenotypes and CVD in a middle-aged and older Chinese population. METHODS: The study utilized longitudinal data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). Weighted logistic regression, Poisson regression and restricted cubic spline (RCS) models were conducted to evaluate associations between metabolic obesity phenotypes and CVD. RESULTS: Incident CVD differed significantly across metabolic obesity phenotypes (p