Computed tomography visceral adipose tissue volume measurements of Italians. Predictive equations.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate total visceral adipose tissue (AT) volumes in relation to single slices of visceral AT area measured at different levels and to other simple anthropometric measurements.

DESIGN

Only outpatients examined in a metabolic unit were considered; subjects without conditions known to affect AT distribution who gave their informed consent were recruited.

SETTING

All subjects were hospitalized in the Department of Internal Medicine of the University of Messina.

SUBJECTS

90 adult subjects of which 18 men and 42 pre- and 30 post-menopausal women. Ages ranged from 18 to 69 years and body mass indexes ranged from 22 to 50.

INTERVENTIONS

The AT volume was calculated by computed tomography from the AT area of five scans and from the distances between these scans.

RESULTS

AT area at the level of the 2nd-3rd lumbar vertebra had by itself the highest predictive power in men (s.e. = 6.8%), in post-menopausal women (s.e. = 7.4%) and, together with age, in pre-menopausal women (s.e. = 14%). Of the non-radiological parameters it was waist circumference, together with age, which showed the highest predictive power in men (s.e. = 21%), pre-menopausal women (s.e. = 25%) and, together with height, in post-menopausal women (s.e. = 33%).

CONCLUSIONS

A single scan measurement at the lumbar level was confirmed to be representative of total visceral AT volume. Waist circumference was the non-radiological parameter that best correlated with volume.