Postmenopausal Chinese-Singaporean Women Have a Higher Ratio of Visceral to Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue Volume than Caucasian Women of the Same Age and BMI.

Maria Kalimeri,Hans Hauner,Karupppasamy Subburaj,Maximilian N Diefenbach,Christiani Jeyakumar Henry,Marcus R Makowski,Thomas Baum,Dimitrios C Karampinos,David Cameron-Smith,Daniela Junker,John J Totman

doi:10.3390/diagnostics11112127

Abstract

Central fat accumulation is a significant determinant of cardio-metabolic health risk, known to differ between ethnically distinct human populations. Despite evidence for preferential central adiposity in Asian populations, the proportional distribution between the subcutaneous and visceral compartments in Chinese postmenopausal women has not been thoroughly investigated. For this analysis, volumetrically quantified subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue (SAT, VAT) in the pelvic and abdominal regions of postmenopausal Asian (Chinese-Singaporean) and Caucasian (German) women matched for age and Body Mass Index (BMI) was undertaken, to examine such differences between the two groups. Volumes were calculated from segmentations of magnetic resonance imaging datasets of the abdomen and pelvis. Despite SAT, VAT, and the corresponding total adipose tissue (TAT) being similar between the groups, VAT/SAT and VAT/TAT were higher in the Asian group (by 24.5% and 18.2%, respectively, each p = 0.02). Further, VAT/SAT and VAT/TAT were positively correlated with BMI in the Caucasian group only (p = 0.02 and p = 0.01, respectively). We concluded that VAT is proportionally higher in the non-obese Asian women, compared to the Caucasian women of matched age and BMI. This conclusion is in agreement with existing literature showing higher abdominal adiposity in Asian populations. Additionally, in the Asian group, BMI did not correlate with visceral adiposity on a significant level. Further analysis is required to examine the extent to which this increased VAT may impact cardio-metabolic health. There is, however, a need to emphasize healthy lifestyle behaviors in non-obese post-menopausal women of Chinese ancestry.

Highlights

Body fat distribution has been shown to correlate with the risk of various chronic diseases
We found that absolute volumes of central adipose tissue did not significantly differ between the two groups, while the ratios of visceral to subcutaneous and visceral to total adipose tissue volumes (VAT/Subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), Visceral adipose tissue (VAT)/TAT) were higher in the Asian group
The results of our analysis showing increased VAT/SAT and VAT/TAT ratios in the Asian compared to the Caucasian cohort are in agreement with previous studies comparing central adiposity between Asian and Caucasian groups

Summary

Introduction

Body fat distribution has been shown to correlate with the risk of various chronic diseases Such diseases include metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes [1,2,3], cardiovascular disease [4,5], and certain cancers [6]. For a given body size, Asians have been shown to accumulate higher levels of VAT than other ethnic groups (Caucasian, Hispanic, and Caribbean of African descent) [18], and overall adiposity differs among Asians from different geographic regions [19]. A multi-site, multi-ethnic study showed significant differences in VAT volumes between different ethnic groups, with Asian groups having the highest levels of VAT for a given BMI [18] Suggested reasons behind such findings are differences in body build and different rates of fat accumulation per compartment for different ethnic groups [13]. The prevalence of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome is higher in Asian populations than among Caucasians, and Asians tend to develop these diseases at a younger age [20], while cardiovascular disease is high in certain parts of Asia [21]

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Conclusion