Associations of visceral and subcutaneous fat areas with the prevalence of metabolic risk factor clustering in 6,292 Japanese individuals: the Hitachi Health Study.

Description

The aim of this study was to compare the relationships of intra-abdominal (visceral) adipose tissue, subcutaneous adipose tissue, waist circumference and body mass index (BMI) with metabolic risk factors in a large Japanese population. The study cohort included 6,292 men and women who participated in the Hitachi Health Study and underwent a computed tomography examination to calculate abdominal adipose tissue areas (intra-abdominal and subcutaneous). Results showed that an elevated intra-abdominal adipose tissue was strongly associated with the clustering of metabolic risk factors and its components when compared with increasing subcutaneous adipose tissue, waist circumference or BMI. The odds ratios of intra-abdominal adipose tissue and subcutaneous adipose tissue differed according to sex and a stronger correlation was observed between waist circumference and subcutaneous adipose tissue than between waist circumference and intra-abdominal adipose tissue. Among metabolic risk factors, a high triglyceride level in men and a low HDL cholesterol level in both men and women showed a particularly strong association with intra-abdominal adipose tissue. Thus, these results suggest a strong contribution of intra-abdominal adipose tissue to the altered cardiometabolic risk profile of Japanese adults.