Early Cardiometabolic Risk Assessment in Young Adults: The Emerging Role of Body Roundness Index and Growth Differentiation Factor-15

Authors

• Omar Jasim Mohammed, Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, IraqFollow
• Hassanain K. Mehdi, Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq

Article Type

Article

Abstract

Background: Cardiometabolic disorders in young adults often develop silently, years before clinical disease becomes apparent. Body mass index (BMI), the most widely used anthropometric measure of obesity, does not capture how fat is distributed in the body, and so misses much of the risk carried specifically by visceral adiposity. Two markers have drawn increasing attention as ways to address this gap: The Body Roundness Index (BRI), derived from waist circumference and height, and Growth Differentiation Factor-15 (GDF-15), a stress-responsive cytokine.
Methods: This narrative review synthesizes current literature on the biological rationale, clinical applications, and limitations of BRI and GDF-15 in cardiometabolic risk assessment, with particular attention to their relevance in young, apparently healthy adults — a population underrepresented in the existing evidence for both markers.
Results: BRI consistently tracks central adiposity more closely than BMI, though its advantage over waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio is less consistent. GDF-15 reflects the cellular stress that adiposity can generate, independent of body size, with an established prognostic role in cardiovascular disease and a growing one in metabolic disease. BRI is presented as a structural marker of fat distribution and GDF-15 as a functional marker of the biological stress that distribution can produce; the two are proposed as complementary rather than interchangeable. No published study has yet examined BRI and GDF-15 jointly in a young adult cohort.
Conclusions: We propose a two-step framework — anthropometric screening with BRI followed by GDF-15 measurement in flagged individuals — as a testable hypothesis for early cardiometabolic risk stratification. Prospective cohort studies enrolling young, healthy adults are needed to validate this approach before it can be considered a clinical strategy.

Keywords

Body roundness index, Growth differentiation Factor-15, Cardiometabolic risk, Young adults, Visceral adiposity, Biomarkers

Recommended Citation

Mohammed, Omar Jasim and Mehdi, Hassanain K. (2026) "Early Cardiometabolic Risk Assessment in Young Adults: The Emerging Role of Body Roundness Index and Growth Differentiation Factor-15," Muthanna Medical Journal: Vol. 13: Iss. 4, Article 1.
Available at: https://muthmj.mu.edu.iq/journal/vol13/iss4/1

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.