Association between abdominal adipose tissue mass with anthropometric and cardiometabolic variables in a subgroup of males and females from the Canola Oil Multicentre Intervention Trial (COMIT)

Abstract

Subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) differ metabolically. Excessive VAT is linked to obesity‐related disease. We evaluated the association between baseline abdominal SAT, VAT and cardiometabolic (glucose) and anthropometric measurements in a subgroup of participants from COMIT (F=7, M=7) with increased waist circumference (F: >;80 cm; M: >; 94 cm). MRI images were analyzed to separate the SAT and VAT; 3 slices centered between lumbar vertebrae L4–5 were calculated. Abdominal and total fat mass were measured by DXA. In females, SAT was positively correlated with abdominal (r=0.86, p=0.013) and total (r=0.82, p=0.02) fat mass and with waist circumference (r=0.84, p=0.02). In males, VAT was positively associated with abdominal fat mass (r=0.93, p=0.002) and demonstrated a strong tendency with waist circumference (r=0.75, p=0.051). SAT also correlated with total fat mass (r=0.73, p=0.06). Glucose levels were positively associated with SAT and VAT in females (r=0.84, p=0.02; r=0.86, p=0.04). In summary, in females, SAT is positively correlated with fat mass, waist circumference; SAT and VAT may contribute to elevated glucose levels. In males, VAT alone was positively associated with abdominal fat mass and increased waist circumference. Gender differences were observed for SAT and VAT depots; further research on differing metabolic responses between males and females is warranted.Grant Funding Source: Canola Council of Canada