Kuk JL, Katzmarzyk PT, Nichaman MZ, Church TS, Blair SN, Ross R. Visceral fat is an independent predictor of all-cause mortality in men.
Obesity (Silver Spring) 2006;
14:336-41. [PMID:
16571861 DOI:
10.1038/oby.2006.43]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 435] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To examine the independent associations of abdominal fat (visceral and subcutaneous) and liver fat with all-cause mortality.
RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES
Participants included 291 men [97 decedents and 194 controls; mean age, 56.4 +/- 12.0 (SD) years] who received a computed tomography (CT) examination at the preventive medicine clinic in Dallas, TX, between 1995 and 1999, with a mean mortality follow-up of 2.2 +/- 1.3 years. Abdominal fat was determined using contiguous CT images from the L3-L4 to L4-L5 intervertebral space. Liver fat was assessed using the CT-determined liver attenuation value, which is inversely related to liver fat. Logistic regression was used to determine the independent association between the fat depots and all-cause mortality.
RESULTS
During the study, there were 97 deaths. Visceral fat [odds ratio (OR) per SD: 1.83; 95% CI: 1.23 to 2.73], abdominal subcutaneous fat (1.44; 1.02 to 2.03), liver fat (0.64; 0.46 to 0.87), and waist circumference (1.41; 1.01 to 1.98) were significant individual predictors of mortality after controlling for age and length of follow-up. In a model including all three fat measures (subcutaneous, visceral, and liver fat), age, and length of follow-up, only visceral fat (1.93; 1.15 to 3.23) was a significant predictor of mortality.
DISCUSSION
Visceral fat is a strong, independent predictor of all-cause mortality in men.
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