Visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue volumes are cross-sectionally related to markers of inflammation and oxidative stress: the Framingham Heart Study.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional observational study within a cohort
PubMed 17709633 · doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.107.710509
What was done
Researchers measured abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) volumes using multidetector CT in 1,250 Framingham Heart Study participants (52% women, mean age 60 ± 9 years). They evaluated associations with circulating inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers, adjusting for age, sex, smoking, physical activity, menopause, hormone therapy, alcohol, and aspirin, with subsequent models further adjusting for BMI and waist circumference.
What was found
Both SAT and VAT were positively related to C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, ICAM-1, IL-6, P-selectin, and TNFR-2 (multivariable R² 0.06–0.28 for SAT vs. 0.07–0.29 for VAT). VAT showed stronger associations than SAT with urinary isoprostanes (R² 0.10 vs. 0.07, P=0.002) and MCP-1 (R² 0.08 vs. 0.07, P=0.04). After adding BMI and waist circumference to models, VAT remained significantly associated with CRP (P=0.0003 in women, P=0.006 in men), IL-6 (P=0.01), isoprostanes (P=0.0002), and MCP-1 (P=0.008), whereas SAT remained associated only with fibrinogen (P=0.01).
Why it matters
This study shows that visceral adiposity confers a distinct inflammatory and oxidative stress profile that standard clinical measures like BMI and waist circumference do not fully capture.
Limits
The study is cross-sectional, preventing causal or temporal inferences. The cohort consists primarily of older, predominantly white adults from the Framingham Heart Study, which may limit generalizability to more diverse or younger populations.
Cited by
- supports Visceral fat accumulation is associated with increased systemic inflammation.