Association between body composition and blood pressure by quantitative CT in a Shanghai population

Abstract

Objective To explore the association between body composition and blood pressure by quantitative CT (QCT) in a Shanghai population. Methods A total of 1 307 participants undergoing low-dose CT lung cancer screening and body composition measurem ents using QCT in our hospital from May to December 2018 were retrospectively enrolled. Body composition, including the abdominal soft tissue area (ASTA), visceral adipose area (VAA), and subcutaneous adipose area (SAA) at the central slice of L2, was measured using QCT. To explore the correlations among body composition and systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and hypertension, Pearson’s correlation, multivariate linear regression, and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used. The cut-off value for predicting hypertension was analyzed using the ROC curve. Results Pearson’s correlation analysis showed that ASTA was negatively correlated with systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure (r=-0.237- -0.102, P<0.05), while VAA and SAA were positively correlated with systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure (VAA: r=0.359-0.486, SAA: r= 0.088-0.365, P<0.05). After adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, and waist circumference, multivariate regression analysis showed that VAA was significantly associated with systolic blood pressure (β= 0.142, P= 0.002), diastolic blood pressure (β= 0.245, P<0.001), and hypertension (OR=1.005, 95% CI:1.001-1.008, P=0.01), while ASTA or SAA was not significantly associated with systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and hypertension. ROC curve analysis indicated that the cut-off values of VAA at the central slice of L2 for predicting hypertension in males and females were 201.89 cm2 and 136.01 cm2, respectively. Conclusion Visceral adiposity was found to be closely related to hypertension. For hypertension management, early screening and strengthening of prevention and management methods are needed for people with abnormally increased visceral adiposity. Key words: Hypertension; Intra-abdominal fat; Subcutaneous fat