Factors associated with visceral fat accumulation in the general population in Okinawa, Japan

Abstract

AIM:To investigate the clinical and biochemical factors associated with visceral fat accumulation in the general population. METHODS:We enrolled 1004 subjects who underwent a medical health checkup between April 2008 and March 2009. The medical health checkup included the following tests: Height, body weight, waist circumference (WC), systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, urinalysis, blood-cell counts, blood chemistry, electrocardiography, chest radiography, and abdominal computed tomography (CT) for visceral fat accumulation. The patients' medical history and lifestyle factors were collected privately by nurses using a selfadministered questionnaire, and they included questions regarding physical activity, sleep duration, dietary habits, smoking, and alcohol consumption. visceral fat area (VFA) was defined as the sum of the intraperitoneal fat area at the level of the umbilicus with CT density in the range of -150 to -50 Hounsfield units. RESULTS:The mean age and body mass index (BMI) of the study subjects were 57.0 years and 24.4 kg/m 2 . In both male and females, vFA was significantly and Institutional review board statement: The study design was approved by the Ethics Committee of University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan.Informed consent statement: All subjects provided written informed consent for the use of their anonymized data for an epidemiological study. Conflict-of-interest statement:We have no conflict of interest. Data sharing statement: No additional data available.Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Retrospective study positively correlated with WC (r = 0.532, P < 0.01; r = 0.612, P < 0.01). Subjects with high levels of vFA were primarily male with significantly higher age, height, body weight, BMI, systolic blood pressure (BP), diastolic BP, and hemoglobin in all subjects (P < 0.05).A multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that vFA had a positive relationship with age ≥ 56, BMI ≥ 25 kg/m 2 , and triglyceride level ≥ 149 in males (P < 0.05), whereas it had a positive relationship with age ≥ 58, BMI ≥ 24.4 kg/m 2 , high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level < 40 mg/dL, and current drinking in females (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION:These results suggest that gender differences exist in the clinical and biochemical parameters associated with visceral fat accumulation.

Correlation of body visceral fat rating with serum lipid profile and fasting blood sugar in obese adults using a noninvasive machine

“…These findings were consistent with previous studies [ 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 ]. We suggested that the high levels of visceral fat, percentage of body fat, fat mass, fat-free mass, muscle mass, total body water, bone mass and basal metabolic rate in males may be associated with sex hormones, alcohol consumption, smoking, nutritional intake and physical activity [ 52 ]. Furthermore, in females, estrogen hormones may direct the expansion of fat through an increase in adiposity progenitor cells, affecting the percentage of fat in females more than in males [ 45 , 53 ].…”

Hemoglobin level and lipoprotein particle size

“…Previously, increasing hemoglobin level was associated with increasing arterial stiffness, which is used to assess CVD in high-risk populations [ 10 ]. Also, higher hemoglobin concentrations are present in individuals with metabolic syndrome or insulin resistance versus healthy controls or obese subjects versus non-obese subjects [ 11 – 16 ].…”

Visceral fat reference values derived from healthy European men and women aged 20-30 years using GE Healthcare dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry

“…The excessive accumulation of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) leads to visceral obesity and induces low-grade systemic inflammation, which is mediated by fat-infiltrating immune cells and increased release of proinflammatory cytokines [ 1 – 4 ]. Although the exact mechanisms that initiate VAT accumulation have not been fully elucidated, it is generally believed that excess VAT is closely associated with the development of a cluster of metabolic derangements, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and malignancies.…”