Contribution of subcutaneous fat accumulation to insulin resistance and atherosclerosis in haemodialysis patients.
BACKGROUND
Whereas visceral fat accumulation (VFA) is related to insulin resistance and atherosclerosis in both haemodialysis (HD) patients and the general population, little is known about the role of subcutaneous fat accumulation (SFA). The purpose of the present study was to examine and confirm the relationship between abdominal fat accumulation (AFA) and various clinical parameters in HD patients.


METHODS
Two hundred and thirty-three HD patients were recruited, including 120 with type 2 diabetes. Abdominal fat distribution was evaluated by computed tomography (CT) scans. Systemic atherosclerosis was assessed by intima-media thickness (IMT) using high-resolution B-mode ultrasonography. The insulin resistance was estimated by the homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR).


RESULTS
Spearman's analysis revealed that both VFA and SFA showed a significant relationship with HOMA-IR and also that SFA was correlated significantly with IMT in all HD patients. SFA was an independent risk factor associated with HOMA-IR and IMT in multiple regression analysis. Neither body mass index (BMI) nor VFA was a predominant determinant of HOMA-IR and IMT. IMT in HD patients with high SFA/low BMI groups was significantly higher than in the low SFA/high BMI groups.


CONCLUSIONS
It appears that there is a close relationship between SFA and insulin resistance or atherosclerosis in HD patients. It was suggested that SFA plays important roles related to carbohydrate or lipid metabolism in HD patients.
Gotoh
Hiromichi
H
Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Japan.
Gohda
Tomohito
T
Tanimoto
Mitsuo
M
Gotoh
Yoshikazu
Y
Horikoshi
Satoshi
S
Tomino
Yasuhiko
Y
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000209:etiology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D050152:Intra-Abdominal Fat / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012044:Regression Analysis; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D050151:Subcutaneous Fat / Q000378:metabolism*