title: Triiodothyronine level predicts visceral obesity and atherosclerosis in euthyroid, overweight and obese subjects: T3 and visceral obesity.
abstract: CONCLUSIONS
  
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We assessed how thyroid hormones affect the visceral obesity and atherosclerosis in euthyroid, overweight and obese Asian subjects.
  
  
  METHODS
  Metabolic parameters and thyroid hormone levels were measured in 177 subjects who visited obesity clinic at Gangnam Severance Hospital. Total adipose tissue area (TAT), subcutaneous adipose tissue area (SAT), visceral adipose tissue area (VAT) were quantified by computerized tomography scan, and, pulse wave velocity (PWV) was measured as a marker of atherosclerosis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  T3 was significantly related to all the measures of abdominal fat, TAT (P = 0.001), SAT (P = 0.015), VAT (P < 0.001), and waist circumference (P = 0.001) as well as BMI (P = 0.017) and total body fat percent (P = 0.001) after adjusting for age and sex. In multiple regression analysis, T3 was independently associated with VAT (β = 0.486, P = 0.009). There was a positive correlation between T3 and PWV.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  T3 level is positively associated with the amount of visceral fat and PWV. Visceral obesity seems to cause an increase in circulating T3 level as an adaptational response to increase the energy expenditure, and thus a more close attention and an effort to assess cardiovascular risks should be made to people with high normal T3 level.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ji Sun
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Nam
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Minho
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jong Suk
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address:acw@yuhs.ac.
authors.forename: Chul Woo
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Bong Soo
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Cha
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Eun Jig
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sung Kil
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Kyung Rae
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun Chul
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Lee