Validity and reproducibility of ultrasonography for the measurement of intra-abdominal adipose tissue.
OBJECTIVE
We studied the validity and reproducibility of a new abdominal ultrasound protocol for the assessment of intra-abdominal adipose tissue.


METHODS
Intra-abdominal adipose tissue was assessed by CT, MRI, anthropometry and ultrasonography on a single day. By ultrasonography the distance between peritoneum and lumbar spine was measured using a strict protocol, including the location of the measurements, pressure on the transducer and respiration. All measurements were repeated after 3 months.


RESULTS
The study population consisted of 19 overweight patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 32.9 kg/m(2) (s.d. 3.7), intra-abdominal adipose tissue on CT 140.1 cm(2) (s.d. 55.9), and a mean ultrasound distance of 9.8 cm (s.d. 2.5). There was a strong association between the CT and ultrasonographic measures: Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.81 (P<0.001). The correlation between ultrasound and waist circumference was 0.74 (P<0.001), the correlation between CT and waist circumference was 0.57 (P=0.01). Ultrasound appeared a good method to diagnose intra-abdominal obesity: the area under the ROC curve was 0.98. During the follow-up period of 3 months, the patients lost on average almost 3 kg of body weight. The correlation coefficient between changes in intra-abdominal adipose tissue assessed by CT and ultrasound was 0.74 (P<0.001). The correlation coefficient of the mean ultrasound distance assessed by two different sonographers at baseline was 0.94 (P<0.001), the mean difference 0.4 cm (s.d. 0.9), and the coefficient of variation 5.4%, indicating good reproducibility of the ultrasound measurements.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this validation study show that abdominal ultrasound, using a strict protocol, is a reliable and reproducible method to assess the amount of intra-abdominal adipose tissue and to diagnose intra-abdominal obesity.
Stolk
R P
RP
Julius Center for Patient Oriented Research, University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands. R.P.Stolk@jc.azu.nl
Wink
O
O
Zelissen
P M
PM
Meijer
R
R
van Gils
A P
AP
Grobbee
D E
DE
D000005:Abdomen / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry / Q000379:methods; D001823:Body Composition; D001824:Body Constitution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods; D014463:Ultrasonography