Do Cardiovascular Disease Risk Indices Differ Based On The Body Roundness Index Among First Responders?

First responders need simple, cost-effective health assessments to reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. The Body Roundness Index (BRI) has emerged as a potential tool for evaluating health over the past decade, but has not yet been used among first responder groups. PURPOSE: We compared CVD risk biomarkers across BRI quartile groups. METHODS: Archival data from annual clinical testing on 170 first responders were analyzed. The BRI was categorized into quartiles: Q1 (4.6). The 2013 Thomas et al. equation calculated BRI, using waist circumference (Wc) and height (Ht): BRI = 364.2 – 365.5 x √[1 – ((Wc/2π)² / (Ht/2)²]. Blood and salivary biomarkers assessed CVD risk. GLM analyses examined differences across BRI groups and occupational groups. Fisher’s LSD tests and 95% confidence intervals assessed pairwise mean differences. The significance level was p ≤ 0.05. Effect sizes were measured with partial Eta squared (ηp2): >0.01 and 0.06 and 0.14 (large) effect. RESULTS: The GLM multivariate analysis revealed no statistically significant overall Wilk's Lambda for the occupational group (p = 0.083, ηp2 = 0.094), BRI group (p = 0.181, ηp2 = 0.064), or BRI by occupational group (p = 0.505, ηp2 = 0.047). Univariate analysis showed a statistically significant difference in C-reactive protein (CRP; p = 0.022, ηp2 = 0.090) for the BRI group, as well as a statistically significant difference in advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP; p = 0.028, ηp2 = 0.047) for the occupational group. Pairwise comparisons found that Q1 had lower concentrations of CRP compared to Q4 (-0.107 mg/mL [-0.176, -0.039], p = 0.002). In addition, pairwise comparisons revealed that firefighters had higher AOPP concentrations than police (38.207 µM [4.261, 72.153], p = 0.028). CONCLUSION: The BRI showed a limited capacity to differentiate between cardiovascular and oxidative stress biomarkers in first responders. Only CRP varied across BRI groups, with lower BRI linked to less inflammation. Firefighters also demonstrated higher oxidative stress, indicated by AOPP, compared to law enforcement officers. Although BRI provides a straightforward measure of adiposity, it may not comprehensively reflect cardiometabolic risk in tactical personnel populations.