Association between stroke and relative fat mass: a cross-sectional study based on NHANES

Background: This study was aimed at investigating the correlation between the occurrence of stroke and relative fat mass (RFM), a novel metric for determining total body fat.

Methods: This cross-sectional study employed the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) dataset, which encompassed the years 2005 to 2018 to assess the independent relationship between RFM and stroke. Moreover, multinomial logistic regression, subgroup analysis, smooth curve fitting, and interaction testing were also used.

Results: This study included 35,842 participants and 1,267 (3.53%) of them were diagnosed with stroke. Fully adjusted Models showed that RFM was positively associated with stroke (odds ratio [OR] = 1.02; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.01-1.03). The odds of having a stroke in quartile 4 were significantly elevated by 44%, compared to quartile 1 (OR = 1.44,95%CI:1.09-1.90). In addition, a subgroup analysis also demonstrated that age and BMI significantly impacted the association between RFM and stroke (P for interaction<0.01).

Conclusions: Elevated RFM is associated with increased odds of stroke, suggesting that RFM may have potential value in the prevention and management of stroke.