Association of ectopic fat with abdominal aorto-illiac and coronary artery calcification in african ancestry men

Abstract

Background and aims There is strong evidence that fat accumulating in non-adipose sites, “ectopic fat”, is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD), including vascular calcification. Most previous studies of this association have assessed only a single ectopic fat depot. Therefore, our aim was to assess the association of total, regional, and ectopic fat with abdominal aortoilliac calcification (AAC) and coronary artery calcification (CAC) in 798 African ancestry men. Methods Participants (mean age 62) were from the Tobago Bone Health Study cohort. Adiposity was assessed via clinical examination, dual x-ray absorptiometry, and computed tomography (CT). Ectopic fat depots included: abdominal visceral adipose tissue (VAT), liver attenuation, and calf intermuscular adipose tissue (IMAT). Vascular calcification was assessed by CT and quantified as present versus absent. Associations were tested using multiple logistic regression adjusted for traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Models of ectopic fat were additionally adjusted for total body fat and standing height. Results All adiposity measures, except VAT, were associated with AAC. Lower liver attenuation or greater calf IMAT was associated with 1.2–1.3-fold increased odds of AAC (p < 0.03 for both), though calf IMAT was a stronger predictor than liver attenuation (p < 0.001) when entered in a single model. No ectopic fat measure was associated with CAC. Conclusions Greater adiposity in the skeletal muscle and liver, but not in the visceral compartment, was associated with increased odds of AAC in African ancestry men. These results highlight the potential importance of both quantity and location of adiposity accumulation throughout the body.

Association of smoking with abdominal adipose deposition and muscle composition in Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) participants at mid-life: A population-based cohort study

“…Total muscle volume was slightly higher in current smokers compared to never smokers, though quantitatively the difference was consistent with the amount of excess IMAT in smokers. Our data suggest that assessing only lean or total muscle volume not only may lead to potentially missing important associations between muscle composition and risk factors such as smoking but also could underestimate the pathological impact of IMAT accumulation [16,18,19,46,47].…”

Morphometric measurements of systemic atherosclerosis and visceral fat: Evidence from an autopsy study

“…The association of visceral fat with the severity of atherosclerosis in the aorta was assessed using ordinal logistic regression. We adjusted all models for height [ 31 – 34 ], which was used as a measure of the participant’s size. We adjusted the multivariate models for age, sex, smoking status, alcohol use, physical inactivity, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus.…”

Associations of the Cardiometabolic Index with the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in Patients with Hypertension and Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Results of a Longitudinal Cohort Study

“…Currently, most measurements of VAT are performed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, computed tomography, or magnetic resonance tomography. However, these imaging techniques are not appropriate for routine examinations because of their time expenditure, high cost, and radiation hazard [ 17 , 18 , 57 ].…”

“…Epidemiological and pathophysiological studies have shown that the accumulation of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is associated with a variety of CVD risk factors, including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome [12][13][14][15][16]. Nowadays, imaging techniques, such as computed tomography, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and magnetic resonance imaging, can accurately quantify the volume of VAT as well as the distribution of specific compartments [16][17][18][19]. However, these methods are not feasible in routine physical examinations because they are timeconsuming and expensive and have radiation risks.…”