Relationship Between Common Carotid Intima-Media Thickness and Abdominal Visceral Adipose Tissue, Abdominal Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue, and Neck Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue as Measured by Ultrasonography

Main Article Content

Pooneh Dehghan
Mehdi Eshaghzadeh
Solmaz Davand
Sajedeh Kouchaki
Taraneh Faghihi Langroudi
Dina Jalalvand

Keywords

Subcutaneous fat, Intra-abdominal fat, Ultrasonography, Atherosclerosis

Abstract

Background: Obesity and overweight are major health problems associated with metabolic disorders and cardiovascular diseases. Body fat distribution is associated with subclinical atherosclerosis. The present study aimed to determine the association of abdominal visceral and subcutaneous fat and the neck subcutaneous fat, measured by ultrasound, with the intima-media thickness of the common carotid artery in obese individuals.
Material and Methods: This study was performed on 160 individuals (82 men and 78 women; age: 20-70 years) to determine the association of abdominal visceral and subcutaneous fat and the neck subcutaneous fat as predictors of atherosclerosis based on ultrasound with the intima-media thickness of the common carotid artery.
Results: Based on the multiple linear regression analysis results, the neck adipose tissue was generally a better predictor of subclinical atherosclerosis (P=0.007, beta coefficient=0.414). Besides, men had a higher visceral adipose tissue than women (P=0.003). It was found that the visceral adipose tissue (P=0.018, beta coefficient=0.537) in men and the neck adipose tissue (P=0.027, beta coefficient=0.472) in women were more strongly associated with the intima-media thickness.
Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that abdominal visceral adipose tissue and subcutaneous neck adipose tissue measured by ultrasonography are correlated with subclinical carotid artery atherosclerosis in men and women, respectively.

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