BIA-estimated visceral fat level and selected regional body composition measures are associated with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in Thai adults

Chronic low-grade systemic inflammation plays a central role in the development of cardiometabolic diseases. Although excess adiposity has been linked to systemic inflammation, the independent associations of overall and regional body composition characteristics with circulating inflammatory biomarkers remain incompletely understood. This study investigated the associations of overall and regional body composition characteristics with circulating inflammatory biomarkers among Thai adults. In this cross-sectional study, 206 Thai adults aged ≥ 18 years underwent body composition assessment using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Overall body composition parameters included body mass index, body fat percentage, fat mass, visceral fat level, waist-to-hip ratio, and skeletal muscle mass, whereas regional body composition included segmental fat and muscle mass. Circulating inflammatory biomarkers, including high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), were measured using standard laboratory methods. Associations were evaluated using Spearman correlation analysis and multivariable linear regression with HC3 robust standard errors after log transformation of inflammatory biomarkers. Relative importance analysis was performed to quantify the contribution of individual body composition parameters to each model. hs-CRP showed significant positive correlations with multiple adiposity-related body composition parameters, including body mass index, body fat percentage, fat mass, visceral fat level, waist-to-hip ratio, and regional fat mass (all false-discovery-rate-adjusted q < 0.05). Within the overall body composition model, visceral fat level was independently associated with higher hs-CRP concentrations (standardized β = 0.340, 95% CI: 0.043–0.637, p = 0.025) and accounted for 52.9% of the variance explained by that model. This percentage represents its relative contribution to the model R 2 and not to the total variability in hs-CRP. In the regional models, mean arm fat, mean leg fat, mean arm muscle, and abdominal muscle were also positively associated with hs-CRP after FDR correction (all q ≤ 0.001). No body composition measures were independently associated with TNF-α or IFN-γ. These findings suggest that hs-CRP is associated with multiple BIA-derived dimensions of body composition. BIA-estimated visceral fat level was the largest contributor to explained variance within the overall body composition model; however, confirmation using direct imaging-based assessment of visceral and regional tissues is required.