A simple ultrasound correlate of visceral fat

Abstract

The roles of body fat and muscle masses for developing cardiometabolic disorders are opposed to each other. The aim of this study was to analyze whether abdominal visceral to thigh muscle thickness ratio (AVTMR) measured by ultrasonography can be a simple yet useful index assessing the disproportion between visceral fat and thigh muscle, and whether it is associated with carotid atherosclerosis. This was an observational study performed on 15 healthy men and 68 men with newly-diagnosed type 2 diabetes. Using ultrasonography, abdominal visceral thickness, mid-thigh muscle thickness and carotid artery intima-media thickness (CA-IMT) were determined. The visceral fat amount and lipid-rich muscle mass were increased and metabolic profile was poorer across AVTMR tertiles. The AVTMR was associated an increased CA-IMT independent of traditional risk factors. The AVTMR measure using ultrasonography might be a relevant index identifying individuals at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.