title: Leg fat percentage correlates negatively with coronary atherosclerosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Visceral fat is related to coronary atherosclerosis, but little is known about the relation between coronary atherosclerosis and percent body fat accumulated in different parts of the body.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The subjects were 100 consecutive patients with demonstrated electrocardiographic ischemic changes. Coronary atherosclerosis was assessed using Gensini's coronary score (CS), and for body fat distribution dual energy X-ray absorptiometry was used. The parameters measured were serum lipid concentrations, body weight, body mass index, percent total fat, trunk fat percent, arm fat percent and leg fat percent. Trunk fat percent correlated significantly with CS (p<0.01), and concentrations of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (p<0.01) and very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C) (p<0.05) in men and women. Leg fat percent correlated negatively with CS in both men and women (p<0.01 for each). Concentrations of both LDL-C and VLDL-C correlated positively with CS in both men and women (p<0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a difference between the effect of body fat in the legs and the trunk that suggests leg fat has an anti-atherosclerotic effect and a negative correlation with CS, and conversely, that trunk fat has a pro-atherosclerotic effect and correlates positively with CS.
authors.affiliation: Internal Medicine I, School of Medicine, Oita University, Oita-gun, Oita, Japan.
authors.forename: Masahide
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hara
authors.forename: Tetsunori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Saikawa
authors.forename: Mamoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kurokawa
authors.forename: Toshiie
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sakata
authors.forename: Hironobu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yoshimatsu
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000368:Aged; D001823:Body Composition; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D015243:Cholesterol, VLDL / Q000097:blood; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D015243:Cholesterol, VLDL