Ultrasonographic intra-abdominal depth and its relation to haemostatic factors in healthy males.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the relationship of intra-abdominal fat to plasma haemostatic factors.


METHODS
60 healthy, predominantly nonobese, male volunteers aged 38 years.


METHODS
Anthropometry, sonographic intra-abdominal depth (IAD), as an indicator of intra-abdominal fat, plasma lipids, plasma insulin (at fasting and after glucose load), various plasma haemostatic factors.


RESULTS
Sonographic IAD correlated positively with plasma fibrinogen (r = 0.33; P < 0.01), PAI-1 activity (r = 0.52; P < 0.0001) and antigen (r = 0.32; P < 0.05), and negatively with t-PA activity, at baseline and after stasis (r = -0.28 and r = 0.31; P < 0.05). Factor VII levels did not correlate significantly with sonographic IAD. Haemostatic variables were also closely associated with BMI, plasma triglyceride and insulin concentrations. Most correlations of haemostatic factors with IAD disappeared after adjustment for either BMI or insulin or triglycerides, except PAI-1 levels which maintained a significant association even after simultaneous adjustment for all potential confounders.


CONCLUSIONS
These results, obtained by sonography, confirm our previous findings of significant associations of haemostatic variables with visceral fat accumulation by using computed tomography, and highlight the role of the intra-abdominal fat as an independent predictor of PAI-1 activity.
Targher
G
G
Division of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, University of Verona, Italy.
Tonoli
M
M
Agostino
G
G
Rigo
L
L
Boschini
K
K
Muggeo
M
M
De Sandre
G
G
Cigolini
M
M
D000005:Abdomen / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000328:Adult; D001823:Body Composition; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005167:Factor VII / Q000378:metabolism; D005340:Fibrinogen / Q000378:metabolism; D006487:Hemostasis; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D017395:Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1 / Q000097:blood; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator / Q000378:metabolism; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D014463:Ultrasonography
D007328:Insulin; D008055:Lipids; D017395:Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1; D014280:Triglycerides; D005167:Factor VII; D005340:Fibrinogen; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator