Abstract
Purpose
Visceral adipose tissue may be strongly linked to increased metabolic risks in adults. However, because little is known regarding the effect of visceral adipose tissue in children and adolescents, we performed this study to determine the association between abdominal fat distribution and metabolic risk factors in this population.
Methods
One hundred one children and adolescents (78 males and 23 females; mean age, 10.8±2.4 years) were enrolled. The anthropometric data and metabolic risk factors were evaluated. Theabdominal fat distribution was assessed according to the CT measurement. Age-adjusted, partial correlations were performed among the visceral adipose fat area (VFA), subcutaneous adiposefat area (SFA), metabolic risk factors, and anthropometrics.
Results
The SFA increased more rapidly than the VFA with advancing years in both genders. In males, the VFA and SFA were positively correlated with anthropometrics. The VFA was correlated with low HDL-cholesterol and the SFA was correlated with diastolic blood pressure (DBP). However, there was no statistical significance between the VFA, SFA, anthropometrics, and other metabolic risk factors. The VFA and SFA were strongly linked to a number of metabolic risk factors, such as other anthropometrics.
Conclusion
This study investigated how a low HDL-C was correlated with VFA and how a high DBP was associated with SFA in Korean male children and adolescents. Our results suggest that the correlation between the VFA, SFA, and metabolic risk factors was relatively weak compared to that reported in previous adult studies.
Figures and Tables
Table 3
*Twelve patients were excluded lack of WC and blood pressure data, †p<0.05, ‡p<0.01, §p<0.001, ∥Metabolic risk factors include BMI above the 97th percentile (z-score,2.0 or more), a triglyceride level above the 95th percentile, an HDL cholesterol level below the 5th percentile, systolic or diastolic blood pressure above the 95th percentile, and impaired glucose tolerance, WC: waist circumference, SBP: systolic blood pressure, DBP: diastolic blood pressure, TG: triglyceride, HDL-C: high density lipoprotein cholesterol.
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