SPC365

The clinical importance of the Metabolic Score for Insulin Resistance (METS-IR) in assessing insulin resistance and its association with arterial stiffness

Session: Sessão de Comunicações Orais 05 – Para além do LDL: determinantes metabólicos do risco cardiovascular
Speaker: Carolina Mendonça de Olim

Congress: CPC 2026
Topic: J. Preventive Cardiology
Theme: 28. Risk Factors and Prevention
Subtheme: 28.14 Risk Factors and Prevention - Other
Session Type: Comunicações Orais
FP Number: ---
Authors: Carolina Olim; Ana Célia Sousa; Cláudia Sousa; Cátia Martins; Vasco Nunes; Carolina Freitas; Mariana Rodrigues; Ana Cardoso; Sofia Borges; Maria João Oliveira; Maria Isabel Mendonça; Roberto Palma Dos Reis

<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;"><strong><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Introduction:</span></span></strong><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"> Arterial stiffness increases due to biological aging and arteriosclerosis, progressively reducing vessel elasticity and contributing to endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular risk. Both genetic and behavioral factors accelerate vascular deterioration. Insulin resistance (IR) is a major cardiometabolic risk marker; however, its association with arterial stiffness assessed by pulse wave velocity (PWV) is not well established.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;"><strong><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Objective:</span></span></strong><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"> Evaluate whether IR, assessed by the metabolic score for insulin resistance (METS-IR), is associated with PWV and whether a correlation exists between these variables.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><strong><span style="font-family:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Methods:</span></strong> In 882 individuals (mean age 50.5&plusmn;8.7 years), the Carotid&ndash;femoral PWV was determined using the Complior device, and METS-IR was calculated:<br />
<span style="background-color:white">ln[2&times;fasting blood glucose (FBG) + triglycerides (TG)]&times;body mass index (BMI) / ln [&nbsp;</span>High Density Lipoprotein<span style="background-color:white">-Cholesterol (HDL-C)&nbsp;<span style="font-family:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">]</span>.</span> Participants were categorized as cases (PWV &ge;10 m/s) or controls (PWV &lt;10 m/s), and METS-IR values were divided into quartiles. METS-IR values were divided into four quartiles: 1st &le;35.17; 2nd &gt;35.17 and &le;40.62; 3rd &gt;40.62 and &le;47.17; and 4th &gt;47.17. In both PWV groups, the percentage of individuals was evaluated in the 1st and 4th METS-IR quartilhes. A Pearson correlation was subsequently performed between PWV and METS-IR values. Finally, a multivariable analysis was conducted including other cardiovascular risk factors (physical inactivity, alcohol consumption, and smoking) together with METS-IR, to determine which variables were significantly and independently associated with increased PWV.</span></span></p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><strong><span style="font-family:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Results:</span></strong> 89 participants (10.1%) had PWV &ge;10 m/s, while 793 (89.9%) were controls. High PWV showed a greater proportion of individuals in the 4th METS-IR quartile (62.9%) versus the 1st quartile (37.1%), while controls showed the opposite pattern (48.5% vs. 51.5%) (p=0.010). A positive correlation was observed between PWV and METS-IR (p&lt;0.0001). In multivariable analysis, METS-IR remained independently associated with elevated PWV (OR=1.616; 95%CI: 1.018&ndash;2.567; p=0.042), together with physical inactivity (OR=1.696; 95%CI: 1.053&ndash;2.734; p=0.030).</span></span></p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;"><strong><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Conclusions:</span></span></strong><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"> METS-IR is significantly and independently associated with increased arterial stiffness in this population. The positive correlation between METS-IR and PWV reinforces the role of insulin resistance in arterial wall damage and arterial stiffening. METS-IR may serve as a practical and scalable tool in clinical practice for early vascular risk assessment. </span></span></span></span></p>