Independent associations between liver fat, visceral adipose tissue, and metabolic risk factors in men

Abstract

The independent associations between liver fat, visceral adipose tissue (AT), and metabolic risk factors are unclear. Although it has been reported that visceral AT is the strongest predictor of metabolic risk, liver fat has also been reported as a strong independent associate of a deleterious metabolic profile. We examined the independent associations between liver fat, visceral AT, and metabolic risk factors in a sample of 293 men varying widely in adiposity. Liver fat and abdominal AT were measured by computed tomography (CT). Univariate analysis revealed that liver fat was associated (p < 0.05) with triglycerides (TG), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and total cholesterol (TC), but not with glucose or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC). Liver fat remained a significant correlate (p < 0.05) of TG and TC after control for age and subcutaneous AT or cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), but not after adjustment for visceral AT alone. Conversely, visceral AT remained significantly associated with TG, SBP, glucose, HDLC (p < 0.01), and TC (p = 0.05) independent of liver fat, subcutaneous AT, CRF, and age. Both liver fat and visceral AT were associated with metabolic risk in men. However, when controlled for each other, visceral AT was the only independent associate of metabolic risk.