General and abdominal obesity and abdominal visceral fat accumulation associated with coronary artery calcification in Korean men

Abstract 

Objective

It is unclear whether visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is responsible for an increased risk of coronary artery calcification (CAC). We evaluated the associations between body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and abdominal VAT area with the CAC in healthy Korean men.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional study of 1336 Korean men free of cardiovascular disease who underwent CAC score (CACS) by multislice computed tomography (CT) and abdominal CT as part of a routine medical examination. VAT area was measured at the level of the umbilicus using CT.

Results

Mean BMI, WC, total adipose tissue and VAT area were higher in subjects with moderate-to-severe CAC (CACS>100) compared to subjects with CACS≤100. The subjects in the fourth quartile of VAT had significantly higher CACS and the greater prevalence of CAC presence and moderate-to-severe CAC than those in the first to third quartiles. The highest quartiles of BMI, WC and VAT area were significantly associated with moderate-to-severe CAC in the age- and CVD risk factor-adjusted model (OR [95% CI]=1.56 [1.11–2.19], 1.56 [1.12–2.18] and 1.42 [1.01–1.98] with p<0.05 for all, respectively).

Conclusion

The higher levels of general and central measure of obesity and the amount of abdominal visceral fat were related to moderate-to-severe CAC in asymptomatic Korean men with relatively low risk.

Keywords: Coronary artery calcification, Obesity, Abdominal fat, Visceral fat, Korean men