title: Contribution of visceral fat accumulation to carotid intima-media thickness in a Chinese population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Recent observational studies have reported that body fat distribution might be differentially associated with subclinical atherosclerosis. We previously reported that visceral fat area (VFA) ≥ 80 cm2 is the optimal cutoff for identifying abdominal obesity in Chinese subjects. We examined whether VFA ≥ 80 cm2 reflects the association between abdominal obesity and subclinical atherosclerosis, and if determination of the visceral fat quantity is useful for assessing subclinical atherosclerosis in asymptomatic individuals.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants (N=1005, men 515, women 490, 34-66 years) free of cardiovascular disease underwent magnetic resonance imaging and carotid ultrasound assessment to quantify VFA and carotid intima-media thickness (C-IMT). Overweight/obese subjects (body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25.0 kg m(-2)) had a higher C-IMT than lean subjects (BMI <25.0 kg m(-2)) (P<0.01). Subjects with VFA ≥ 80 cm2 had significantly higher C-IMT than those without abdominal obesity regardless of BMI (P<0.01). By multivariate regression analysis adjusted for anthropometric measurements and cardiovascular risk factors, waist circumference but not BMI was independently correlated with C-IMT in men (P<0.001). Similar findings were observed with an accurate obesity indices adjusted model, which showed that VFA was an independent risk factor for increased C-IMT in men but not in women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  VFA 80 cm2 effectively identified carotid atherosclerosis for both lean and obese individuals in middle-aged Chinese men.
authors: Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, China.
authors: Y
authors: Y
authors: Wang
authors: X
authors: X
authors: Ma
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Zhou
authors: W
authors: W
authors: Zong
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Zhang
authors: Y
authors: Y
authors: Hao
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Zhu
authors: Y
authors: Y
authors: Xiao
authors: D
authors: D
authors: Li
authors: Y
authors: Y
authors: Bao
authors: W
authors: W
authors: Jia
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000473:pathology*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001823:Body Composition; D050218:Body Fat Distribution; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*; D059168:Carotid Intima-Media Thickness / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D050152:Intra-Abdominal Fat / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D013851:Thinness / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*