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Comparative Study
. 2015 Jun;10(3):172-9.
doi: 10.1111/ijpo.249. Epub 2014 Jul 3.

Visceral adipose tissue measured by DXA correlates with measurement by CT and is associated with cardiometabolic risk factors in children

T A Bosch  1 , D R Dengel, A S Kelly, A R Sinaiko, A Moran, J Steinberger
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Visceral adipose tissue measured by DXA correlates with measurement by CT and is associated with cardiometabolic risk factors in children

T A Bosch et al. Pediatr Obes. 2015 Jun.

Abstract

Background: Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) generally demonstrates a stronger relationship with cardiometabolic risk factors than total body fat or subcutaneous adipose tissue.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare VAT estimated in children by total volume dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) with a gold standard measurement, single slice (L4-L5) computed tomography (CT).

Methods: A total of 329 (152 females, 177 males) children ages 6-18 years (mean age 12.3 ± 3.6) and with average body mass index percentile of 54.9% (3-99%) had their VAT estimated by both CT and DXA. Linear association between methods was measured using Pearson's correlation. Multiple linear regressions compared the associations between cardiometabolic risk factors and both CT-VAT and DXA-VAT, respectively.

Results: In children, DXA-VAT was correlated significantly with CT-VAT, with a stronger relationship in overweight and obese children. Multiple regression analysis showed that both estimates of VAT were significantly associated with lipids and insulin sensitivity, measured by euglycaemic-hyperinsulinaemic clamp. Additionally, DXA-VAT was associated with diastolic blood pressure, homeostasis model of insulin resistance and fasting insulin, but CT-VAT was not.

Conclusion: In children, total volume DXA-VAT and single slice CT-VAT are significantly correlated and each demonstrates similar associations with cardiometabolic risk factors. This suggests that DXA is a useful and valid method for estimation of VAT in children.

Keywords: Body composition; insulin resistance; obesity; pediatrics.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: The authors do not have any disclosures.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Scatter plot of CT versus DXA visceral fat estimation in the sample population
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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