title: Ultrasound estimates of visceral and subcutaneous-abdominal adipose tissues in infancy.
abstract: Other imaging techniques to quantify internal-abdominal adiposity (IA-AT) and subcutaneous-abdominal adiposity (SCA-AT) are frequently impractical in infants. The aim of this study was twofold: (a) to validate ultrasound (US) visceral and subcutaneous-abdominal depths in assessing IA-AT and SCA-AT from MRI as the reference method in infants and (b) to analyze the association between US abdominal adiposity and anthropometric measures at ages 3 months and 12 months. Twenty-two infants underwent MRI and US measures of abdominal adiposity. Abdominal US parameters and anthropometric variables were assessed in the Cambridge Baby Growth Study (CBGS), n = 487 infants (23 girls) at age 3 months and n = 495 infants (237 girls) at 12 months. US visceral and subcutaneous-abdominal depths correlated with MRI quantified IA-AT (r = 0.48, P < 0.05) and SCA-AT (r = 0.71, P < 0.001) volumes, respectively. In CBGS, mean US-visceral depths increased by ~20 % between ages 3 and 12 months (P < 0.0001) and at both ages were lower in infants breast-fed at 3 months than in other infants. US-visceral depths at both 3 and 12 months were inversely related to skinfold thickness at birth (P = 0.03 and P = 0.009 at 3 and 12 months, resp.; adjusted for current skinfold thickness). In contrast, US-subcutaneous-abdominal depth at 3 months was positively related to skinfold thickness at birth (P = 0.004). US measures can rank infants with higher or lower IA-AT and SCA-AT. Contrasting patterns of association with visceral and subcutaneous-abdominal adiposities indicate that they may be differentially regulated in infancy.
authors.affiliation: MRC Epidemiology Unit, Institute of Metabolic Science, Addenbrooke's Hospital, P.O. Box 285, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK. ed219@mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk
authors.forename: Emanuella
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: De Lucia Rolfe
authors.forename: Neena
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Modi
authors.forename: Sabita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Uthaya
authors.forename: Ieuan A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.forename: David B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Dunger
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Acerini
authors.forename: Ronald P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Stolk
authors.forename: Ken K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Ong
mesh_terms: D050154:Adiposity; D000367:Age Factors; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D050152:Intra-Abdominal Fat / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012885:Skinfold Thickness; D050507:Subcutaneous Fat, Abdominal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014463:Ultrasonography