Racial differences in visceral adipose tissue but not anthropometric markers of health-related variables

Abstract

This study sought to determine whether visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and/or its anthropometric surrogates could significantly predict health-related variables (HRV) in overweight Caucasian (CC) ( n = 36) and African-American (AA) ( n = 30) women. With the use of magnetic resonance imaging, findings showed significantly higher volume and area of VAT ( P < 0.0001 for both) as well as higher triacylglycerol ( P = 0.009) in CC compared with AA women. Furthermore, VAT volume, race, and VAT volume × race interaction could significantly predict triacylglycerol ( P = 0.0094), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ( P = 0.0057), insulin ( P = 0.0002), and insulin resistance ( P < 0.0001). Additionally, the VAT volume × race interaction for insulin ( P = 0.040) and insulin resistance ( P = 0.003) was significant. In a separate analysis, waist circumference and race predicted the identical variables. Our results support the use of volume or area of VAT in predicting HRV in CC women; however, its use in AA women appears limited. In contrast, waist circumference can provide a suitable VAT alternative for both CC and AA women; however, VAT clearly represents the more powerful predictor.