Panel Summary: The Revolution in Risk Assessment and Disease Detection: Implications for Population Science

摘要

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions and complications related to obesity contribute substantially to both health care costs and mortality. Obesity, particularly when accompanied by an excess of visceral/ectopic fat, is a major risk factor for diseases ranging from insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and cardiovascular disease.1-5 Also, coronary atherosclerosis is another important risk factor associated with obesity and proved to be a predictor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) across ethnic groups. Accordingly, risk for obesity and its assessments should be considered by utilizing the existing JHS data to its fullest, especially with the rich computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) datasets.The benefits of utilizing biomarkers include: 1) enable faster, efficient clinical trials for life-saving or health-promoting interventions; 2) help inform healthy diet choices; 3) enable tracking of health concerns and decisions about care.