Abstract

Background: Optimizing nutritional care for people with multimorbidity requires effective and feasible tools for early risk identification. This study aimed to investigate the associations of conicity index (C-index) and body roundness index (BRI) with multimorbidity among adults in Guangzhou, and to explore their potential utility in identifying individuals who may benefit from prioritized nutritional assessment. Methods: Based on the Fourth Adult Chronic Disease and Risk Factor Surveillance Program in Guangzhou, a total of 15,532 adults were recruited in this cross-sectional study. Multiple logistic regression analysis, restricted cubic spline (RCS) analysis and receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis with DeLong’s test were performed. Results: The prevalence of multimorbidity was 38.95%. Higher C-index and BRI quartiles were significantly associated with increased multimorbidity risk. Compared with the lowest quartile, the adjusted OR for the highest C-index quartile was 1.98 (95% CI: 1.78–2.21), and for the highest BRI quartile it was 3.05 (95% CI: 2.74–3.41). A dose–response relationship was observed (p < 0.001). BRI showed statistically significantly higher discriminative ability relative to traditional anthropometric indices, though its overall discriminative performance was modest (AUC = 0.678). Conclusions: C-index and BRI are strongly and positively associated with multimorbidity. These simple, non-invasive indices may support community-based risk stratification and help identify individuals who warrant further clinical and nutritional assessment.

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