Associations ofDXA-measured abdominal adiposity with cardio-metabolic risk and related markers in early adolescence in Project Viva

Background Increased visceral adipose tissue (VAT) precedes development of insulin resistance and dyslipidemia in adults. The associations of abdominal adiposity derived from dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), including VAT, subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue (SAAT) and total abdominal adipose tissue (TAAT) with cardio-metabolic risk in adolescents are understudied. Objectives We examined the cross-sectional associations of DXA-measured abdominal adiposity with cardio-metabolic risk and related markers in early adolescence (mean [SD] age 13.0 [0.7] years). Methods We collected data from 740 adolescents (374 girls and 366 boys) in Project Viva, a U.S. pre-birth cohort. We used DXA estimates of VAT, SAAT and TAAT area. We conducted overall and sex-stratified linear regression models, adjusting for age, sex (in overall models), race/ethnicity, puberty score and body mass index (BMI)z-score. Results Mean BMIz-score was 0.59 (1.28). After adjustment, greater VAT (per 1 SD score) was associated with higher metabolic riskz-score (beta 0.14 units; 95% CI 0.08, 0.20), higher log high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (beta 0.51 mg/L; 0.36, 0.66) and log leptin (beta 0.36 ng/mL; 0.27, 0.44), and lower log adiponectin (beta -0.08 ug/mL; -0.13, -0.02). SAAT and TAAT showed similar associations as VAT with comparable or greater effect sizes. Conclusion In early adolescence, DXA-measured VAT, SAAT and TAAT are associated with cardio-metabolic risk and related markers, independent of current BMI. Among two adolescents with the same BMI, there is an associated higher cardio-metabolic risk in the adolescent with greater DXA-measured abdominal adiposity.

Automated summary

This study investigated the associations of DXA-measured abdominal adiposity with cardio-metabolic risk and related markers in early adolescence, finding that VAT, SAAT, and TAAT were all independently associated with these risks, regardless of current BMI. Having greater abdominal adiposity measured by DXA was linked to higher cardio-metabolic risk in adolescents.