Reproducibility of computed tomography measurement of visceral adipose tissue area.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of the current study is to examine the reproducibility of CT measurement of the cross-sectional area of abdominal adipose tissue.


METHODS
Sixteen healthy pre-menopausal women, ranging from lean to obese, underwent duplicate cross-sectional CT scans of the abdomen at the level of the 4th lumbar vertebral disc space. Subjects stood after the initial scan and were then re-positioned prior to repeat CT scanning.


RESULTS
There was a high degree of reproducibility in measurement of overall cross-sectional adipose tissue (AT) and in the partitioning of this into subcutaneous and visceral AT. The excellent reproducibility is demonstrated by a high correlation between duplicate measurements (r = 0.99, P < 0.01), and by small precision errors; 1.2% of the mean value for total AT cross-sectional area, 1.9% for subcutaneous AT area, and 3.9% for visceral AT area.


CONCLUSIONS
Measurement of abdominal AT area by cross-sectional CT scanning is not only an accurate determination of this adipose depot but can also be repeated with a high degree of precision.
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
F L
FL
Thaete
S R
SR
Colberg
T
T
Burke
D E
DE
Kelley
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D017697:Premenopause; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D015898:Tomography Scanners, X-Ray Computed / Q000592:standards*; D014781:Viscera