title: Fat distribution and mortality: the AGES-Reykjavik Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study examined associations of regional fat depots with all-cause mortality over 11 years of follow-up.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were from 2,187 men and 2,900 women, aged 66-96 years in the AGES-Reykjavik Study. Abdominal visceral fat and subcutaneous fat and thigh intermuscular fat and subcutaneous fat were measured by CT.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In men, every standard deviation (SD) increment in thigh intermuscular fat was related to a significantly greater mortality risk (HR: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.08-1.26) after adjustment for age, education, smoking, physical activity, alcohol, BMI, type 2 diabetes, and coronary heart disease. In women, visceral fat (per SD increment) significantly increased mortality risk (HR: 1.13, 95% CI: 1.03-1.25) while abdominal subcutaneous fat (per SD increment) was associated with a lower mortality risk (HR: 0.70, 95% CI: 0.61-0.80). Significant interactions with BMI were found in women, indicating that visceral fat was a strong predictor of mortality in obese women while abdominal and thigh subcutaneous fat were associated with a lower mortality risk in normal-weight and overweight women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Fat distribution is associated with mortality over 11 years of follow-up independent of overall fatness. The divergent mortality risks for visceral fat and subcutaneous fat in women suggest complex relationships between overall fatness and mortality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine, CAPHRI School for Public Health and Primary Care, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands; Laboratory of Epidemiology and Population Sciences, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Annemarie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koster
authors.forename: Rachel A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: Gudny
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Eiriksdottir
authors.forename: Thor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aspelund
authors.forename: Sigurdur
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sigurdsson
authors.forename: Thomas F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.forename: Vilmundur
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gudnason
authors.forename: Lenore J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Launer
authors.forename: Tamara B
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Harris
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D050218:Body Fat Distribution; D002423:Cause of Death; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007055:Iceland / Q000453:epidemiology; D050152:Intra-Abdominal Fat / Q000473:pathology*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D012307:Risk Factors; D050507:Subcutaneous Fat, Abdominal / Q000473:pathology*