Visceral and Subcutaneous Adiposity and Brachial Artery Vasodilator Function

• Published in: Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) Vol. 17; no. 11; pp. 2054 - 2059
• Main Authors: Parikh, Nisha I., Keyes, Michelle J., Larson, Martin G., Pou, Karla M., Hamburg, Naomi M., Vita, Joseph A., O'Donnell, Christopher J., Vasan, Ramachandran S., Mitchell, Gary F., Hoffmann, Udo, Fox, Caroline S., Benjamin, Emelia J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.11.2009
• Subjects: Abdomen; Abdominal Fat - anatomy & histology; Adiposity; Age; Body fat; Body Mass Index; Brachial Artery - anatomy & histology; Brachial Artery - physiology; Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular Diseases - epidemiology; Cardiovascular Diseases - physiopathology; Endothelium, Vascular - physiology; Epidemiology; Female; Flow velocity; Hemodynamics; Hospitals; Humans; Male; Medical schools; Medicine; Middle Aged; Models, Statistical; Obesity; Regression analysis; Risk Factors; Stress, Mechanical; Subcutaneous Fat - anatomy & histology; Tomography; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Vasodilation; Veins & arteries; Waist Circumference; United States > US; Massachusetts
• ISSN: 1930-7381; 1930-739X
• DOI: 10.1038/oby.2009.60

Endothelial dysfunction may link obesity to cardiovascular disease (CVD). We tested the hypothesis that visceral abdominal tissue (VAT) as compared with subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) is more related to endothelium‐dependent vasodilation. Among Framingham Offspring and Third Generation cohorts (n = 3,020, mean age 50 years, 47% women), we used multivariable linear regression adjusted for CVD and its risk factors to relate computed tomography (CT)‐assessed VAT and SAT, BMI, and waist circumference (WC), with brachial artery measures. In multivariable‐adjusted models, BMI, WC, VAT, and SAT were positively related to baseline artery diameter and baseline mean flow velocity (all P < 0.001), but not hyperemic mean flow velocity. In multivariable‐adjusted models, BMI (P = 0.002), WC (P = 0.001), and VAT (P = 0.01), but not SAT (P = 0.24) were inversely associated with percentage of flow‐mediated dilation (FMD%). However, there was little incremental increase in the proportion of variability explained by VAT (R2 = 0.266) as compared to SAT (R2 = 0.265), above and beyond traditional risk factors. VAT, but not SAT was associated with FMD% after adjusting for clinical covariates. Nevertheless, the differential association with VAT as compared to SAT was minimal.