General and abdominal obesity and abdominal visceral fat accumulation associated with coronary artery calcification in Korean men.
OBJECTIVE
It is unclear whether visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is responsible for an increased risk of coronary artery calcification (CAC). We evaluated the associations between body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and abdominal VAT area with the CAC in healthy Korean men.


METHODS
This is a cross-sectional study of 1336 Korean men free of cardiovascular disease who underwent CAC score (CACS) by multislice computed tomography (CT) and abdominal CT as part of a routine medical examination. VAT area was measured at the level of the umbilicus using CT.


RESULTS
Mean BMI, WC, total adipose tissue and VAT area were higher in subjects with moderate-to-severe CAC (CACS>100) compared to subjects with CACS ≤ 100. The subjects in the fourth quartile of VAT had significantly higher CACS and the greater prevalence of CAC presence and moderate-to-severe CAC than those in the first to third quartiles. The highest quartiles of BMI, WC and VAT area were significantly associated with moderate-to-severe CAC in the age- and CVD risk factor-adjusted model (OR [95% CI]=1.56 [1.11-2.19], 1.56 [1.12-2.18] and 1.42 [1.01-1.98] with p<0.05 for all, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
The higher levels of general and central measure of obesity and the amount of abdominal visceral fat were related to moderate-to-severe CAC in asymptomatic Korean men with relatively low risk.
Choi
Su-Yeon
SY
Department of Internal Medicine and Healthcare Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital Healthcare System Gangnam Center, 39th FL Gangnam Finance Center, 737 Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 135-984, Republic of Korea.
Kim
Donghee
D
Oh
Byung-Hee
BH
Kim
Minkyung
M
Park
Hyo Eun
HE
Lee
Chang-Hyun
CH
Cho
Sang-Heon
SH
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000473:pathology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D050152:Intra-Abdominal Fat / Q000473:pathology; D007723:Korea; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012307:Risk Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods