Is visceral adiposity predictor of aortic diseases?

Congress:

ECR 2010

Poster Number:

C-3065

Type:

Scientific Exhibit

Keywords:

Vascular, CT

Authors:

M. Hrabak Paar, R. Stern Padovan; Zagreb/HR

DOI:

10.1594/ecr2010/C-3065

DOI-Link:

https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/ecr2010/C-3065

Fig. 1: Abdominal aortic aneurysm, VR image.

Fig. 2: Subcutaneous fat is outlined on a single axial CT scan at the level of...

Fig. 3: The yellow line outlines intraabdominal (visceral) fat tissue.

Fig. 4: Aortic occlusion, coronal MIP image.

Purpose

Visceral adiposity is related to development of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases.1,2 The purpose of our investigation was toevaluate relationship between the amount and distribution of abdominal adipose tissue with development of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and atherosclerotic changes of the aorta.

Methods and Materials

MSCT angiography of the aorta was performed in 94 patients with AAA (87 men and seven women; age range 41-91) and in 94 control subjects (68 men and 26 women; age range 40-85). Total, visceral and subcutaneous abdominal fat areas were measured on a single axial CT scan at the level of umbilicus using standardized technique3 (Figures 1-6) and compared between the groups by the t-test for independent samples. In the control group atherosclerotic plaques of aortic segments were semiquantitatively graded (grade 1 – no...

Results

We found no relationship between AAA development and total and visceral fat areas, while subcutaneous abdominal fat area was significantly smaller in the AAA group than in the control group (Table 1).Subjects with AAAControl groupTotal abdominal fat tissue area (cm2) 364 ± 163384 ± 147Visceral abdominal fat tissue area (cm2) 175 ± 94159 ± 82Subcutaneous abdominal fat tissue area (cm2) 189 ± 84a225 ± 90aV/S 0.98 ± 0.41b0.74 ± 0.38bTable 1. Total, visceral and subcutaneous abdominal fat tissuearea in the group of patients with AAA...

Conclusion

Visceral adiposity is predictor of aortic atherosclerosis, but not of AAA development, indicating that these aortic diseases are caused by different pathophysiological mechanisms.

References

Kim SK, Kim HJ, Hur KY, Choi SH, Ahn CW, Lim SK, Kim KR, Lee HC, Huh KB, Cha BS. Visceral fat thickness measured by ultrasonography can estimate not only visceral obesity but also risks of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Am J Clin Nutr 2004;79;593-9.Olijhoek JK, van der Graaf Y, Banga JD, Algra A, Rabelink TJ, Visseren FLJ. The metabolic syndrome is associated with advanced vascular damage in patients with coronary heart disease, stroke, peripheral arterial disease or abdominal aortic aneurysm. Eur Heart J 2004;25:342-8.Yoshizumi...

Personal Information

Communicating author:Maja Hrabak Paar, MD, PhDDepartmentof Diagnostic and Interventional RadiologyUniversity Hospital Center ZagrebKispaticeva 1210000 ZagrebCroatiaTelephone: +385 1 2388455Fax: +385 1 2388250E-mail: [email protected]