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. 2013 Apr 15;4(2):31-9.
doi: 10.4239/wjd.v4.i2.31.

Negative association between trunk fat, insulin resistance and skeleton in obese women

Emanuela A Greco  1 , Davide Francomano, Rachele Fornari, Chiara Marocco, Carla Lubrano, Vincenza Papa, Francesca Wannenes, Luigi Di Luigi, Lorenzo M Donini, Andrea Lenzi, Antonio Aversa, Silvia Migliaccio
Affiliations

Negative association between trunk fat, insulin resistance and skeleton in obese women

Emanuela A Greco et al. World J Diabetes. .

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the potential interference of trunk fat (TF) mass on metabolic and skeletal metabolism.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 340 obese women (mean age: 44.8 ± 14 years; body mass index: 36.0 ± 5.9 kg/m(2)) were included. Patients were evaluated for serum vitamin D, osteocalcin (OSCA), inflammatory markers, lipids, glucose and insulin (homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, HOMA-IR) levels, and hormones profile. Moreover, all patients underwent measurements of bone mineral density (BMD; at lumbar and hip site) and body composition (lean mass, total and trunk fat mass) by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.

Results: Data showed that: (1) high TF mass was inversely correlated with low BMD both at lumbar (P < 0.001) and hip (P < 0.01) sites and with serum vitamin D (P < 0.0005), OSCA (P < 0.0001) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1; P < 0.0001) levels; (2) a positive correlation was found between TF and HOMA-IR (P < 0.01), fibrinogen (P < 0.0001) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (P < 0.0001); (3) vitamin D levels were directly correlated with IGF-1 (P < 0.0005), lumbar (P < 0.006) and hip (P < 0.01) BMD; and (4) inversely with HOMA-IR (P < 0.001) and fibrinogen (P < 0.0005).Multivariate analysis demonstrated that only vitamin D was independent of TF variable.

Conclusion: In obese women, TF negatively correlates with BMD independently from vitamin D levels. Reduced IGF-1 and increased inflammatory markers might be some important determinants that account for this relationship.

Keywords: Inflammation; Insulin resistance; Obesity; Osteocalcin; Skeleton; Trunk fat; Vitamin D.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Correlation between trunk fat and bone mineral density at both lumbar and femoral sites. A: Trunk fat (TF) percentage and bone mineral density at the lumbar (BMD L; r = -0.22, P < 0.001); B: Bone mineral density at the hip (BMD H, r = -0.22, P < 0.01).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Inverse relationship between trunk fat percentage and vitamin D (A; r = -0.27, P < 0.0005), osteocalcin (B; r = -0.49, P < 0.0001) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (C; r = -0.31, P < 0.0001) plasma levels in obese women. VITD: Vitamin D; OSCA: Osteocalcin; IGF-1: Insulin-like growth factor-1; TF: Trunk fat.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Direct relationship between trunk fat percentage, homeostasis model assessment index (A; r = 0.18, P < 0.01), fibrinogen (B; r = 0.44, P < 0.0001) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (C; r = 0.29, P < 0.0001) in obese women. HOMA: Homeostasis model assessment; FBN: Fibrinogen; ESR: Erythrocyte sedimentation rate; TF: Trunk fat.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Direct relationship between vitamin D, insulin-like growth factor-1 (A; r = 0.32, P < 0.0005), hip (B; r = 0.23, P < 0.01) and lumbar bone mineral density (C; r = 0.19, P < 0.005) in obese women. VITD: Vitamin D; IGF-1: Insulin-like growth factor-1; BMD H: Bone mineral density at the hip; BMD L: Bone mineral density at the lumbar; TF: Trunk fat.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Inverse relationship between vitamin D levels with homeostasis model assessment (A; r = -0.27, P < 0.001) and with fibrinogen (B; r = -0.28, P < 0.0005). VITD: Vitamin D; HOMA: Homeostasis model assessment; FBN: Fibrinogen.
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