Contribution of epicardial and abdominopelvic visceral adipose tissues in Chinese adults with impaired glucose regulation and diabetes

Abstract

Aims: To quantify epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) in Chinese adults with impaired glucose regulation (IGR) or diabetes and compare the contributions of EAT and VAT to the occurrence of IGR and diabetes with those of traditional obesity indices.

Methods: Cardiac and abdominopelvic noncontrast computed tomographic images of 668 individuals were used to measure EAT and VAT volume. Multivariable logistic regression and area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used to illustrate the contributions of these tissues.

Results: Patients with IGR or diabetes had larger EAT and VAT volumes than did the controls, and the VAT volume was significantly different between the IGR and diabetic groups. In multivariable models, higher EAT or VAT volume was positively associated with the presence of IGR and diabetes. After adjusting further for body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), a higher EAT volume was still positively associated with IGR (odds ratio (OR) = 1.46; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.04-2.03), and a higher VAT volume was positively associated with IGR (OR = 1.86; 95% CI, 1.15-3.02) and diabetes (OR = 1.86; 95% CI, 1.16-2.99). The areas under the curve (AUCs) of the association of EAT (AUC = 0.751; 95% CI, 0.712-0.789) and VAT (AUC = 0.752; 95% CI, 0.713-0.792) with dysglycemia (IGR + diabetes) were significantly larger than those of the traditional obesity indices (all P < 0.05).

Conclusions: High EAT or VAT volume is positively associated with IGR and diabetes in Chinese adults. With a given WHR and BMI, such an association still exists to some extent. The correlation may be stronger than those of the traditional obesity indices.

Keywords: Adipose tissue; Diabetes; Impaired glucose regulation; Quantification.