Ethnic Differences in Visceral Adiposity Measured in Early Pregnancy.

Abstract

To determine if visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) depth in early pregnancy differs by maternal ethnicity. We prospectively evaluated 482 women without pre-pregnancy diabetes. All underwent sonographic measurement of VAT and SAT depth at 11 to 14 weeks' gestation. SAT did not differ between groups, but VAT did. Compared with Canadian-born women (3.9 cm, 95% CI 3.7-4.1), mean VAT depth was higher among Latin American (4.6 cm, 95% CI 4.1-5.2), Sub-Saharan African (5.0 cm, 95% CI 4.0-6.1), and Caribbean (6.0 cm, 95% CI 4.8-7.3) women. Adjusting for age, parity, and 1/height2, the relative risks of having a VAT depth >80th percentile were 1.69 (95% CI 1.05-2.73) for Latin American, 2.24 (95% CI 1.28-3.93) for Sub-Saharan African, and 3.34 (95% CI 1.91-5.84) for Caribbean women, relative to Canadian-born women. Women from these world regions also had a greater percentage of preterm births and emergency CSs. VAT differs appreciably among certain ethnic groups, which may reflect their predisposition to adverse pregnancy outcomes.