Association of body roundness index with risk of all-cause mortality and competing risks of cardiovascular mortality in hypertensive patients.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: As a core risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, hypertension continues to be associated with a high global risk of major adverse cardiovascular events and mortality. Body roundness index (BRI), an emerging body morphology indicators reflecting central obesity and visceral fat accumulation through the ratio of waist circumference to height, is closely linked to cardiovascular risks such as hypertension. However, its value in assessing all-cause and cardiovascular mortality risks in hypertensive populations remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the nonlinear association between BRI and all-cause mortality risk in hypertensive patients, evaluate its independent impact on cardiovascular mortality risk, and validate the robustness of results through subgroup analyses.

METHODS AND RESULTS: Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), we included 8828 hypertensive patients with a median follow-up of 11.29 years, during which 2113 all-cause deaths (including 588 cardiovascular deaths) were recorded. By applying Cox proportional hazards models combined with restricted cubic splines (RCS), we found a nonlinear relationship between BRI and all-cause mortality risk in hypertensive patients, with a significant threshold effect. Competing risks model analysis showed that the impact of BRI on cardiovascular mortality risk was independent of other causes of death. Subgroup analyses further confirmed the robust association between BRI and mortality risk.

CONCLUSIONS: BRI may serve as an effective indicator for assessing all-cause and cardiovascular mortality risks in hypertensive patients. Its simplicity and cost-effectiveness suggest potential applications in clinical and public health practices.