Visceral fat and chronic diseases

Objective: To investigate the association between body fat percentage (BFP), visceral fat index (VFI) and Cardiometabolic Risk Factor Clustering (CRFC), among population aged 35 or older in Tibet and Xinjiang areas. Methods: Using the stratified multi-stage random sampling method, 7 571 residents aged 35 or above were examined with international standardized examination between 2015 and 2016. Of the eligible 5 643 participants, association of BFP and VFI with CRFC was defined as having two or more of the four risk factors: hypertension, diabetes mellitus, high TG and low HDL-C, at the same time...

PURPOSE: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder that affects women of reproductive age and is characterized by ovulatory dysfunction and/or androgen excess or polycystic ovaries. Women with PCOS present a number of systemic symptoms in addition to those related to the reproductive system. It has been associated with functional derangements in adipose tissue, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). METHODS: A detailed literature search on Pubmed was done for articles about PCOS, adipokines, insulin resistance, and metabolic syndrome...

Cardiac obesity makes an important contribution to the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. One of the important pathways of this contribution is the inflammatory process that takes place in the adipose tissue. In this review, we consider the role of the cardiovascular system-associated fat in atherosclerotic cardiovascular pathology and a non-atherosclerotic cause of coronary artery disease, such as atrial fibrillation. Cardiovascular system-associated fat not only serves as the energy store, but also releases adipokines that control local and systemic metabolism, heart/vascular function and vessel tone, and a number of vasodilating and anti-inflammatory substances...

OBJECTIVES: Malnutrition and wasting predict clinical outcomes in children with severe chronic illness. Objectively calculated malnutrition in children with end-stage organ failure has not been well studied. This analysis compares children with kidney, liver or intestine failure to healthy controls to quantitate the disparity in muscle and fat stores. METHODS: Children younger than age 19 with end stage liver, kidney or intestine failure and with pre-transplant computed tomography (CT) imaging were selected from the transplant database...

Due to the high content of bioactive compounds, herbal teas are being investigated as adjuvant in chronic disease management. Studies have shown that mango leaf tea contain mangiferin, total phenolics and antioxidants, compounds with many functional properties. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the anti-obesity effects of tea from Mangifera indica L. leaves, Ubá variety (TML), in obese rats fed a high-fat diet (HFD). For this, adult male Wistar rats were divided into three groups (n=8): the control group (fed AIN-93 diet), obese group (fed a HFD) and treated group (fed a HFD and supplemented with TML for 8 weeks)...

: Among HIV-infected persons, the assessment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) provides a window through which overall metabolic health can be evaluated. In this review, we summarize clinical data that support the roles of aging and metabolic dysregulation as factors contributing to fatty liver/NAFLD among HIV-infected persons.Age-related metabolic alterations include hepatic anatomic and functional changes, altered homeostasis of gastrointestinal microbiota and anthropometric changes (such as a shift of body fat depots from the subcutaneous to the visceral compartment) that are often associated with the development of insulin resistance and increased cardiovascular risk...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review was designed to revaluate the androgen role on the mechanisms of hypertension and cardiovascular risks in both men and women. Sex steroids are involved in the regulation of blood pressure, but pathophysiological mechanism is not well understood. Androgens have an important effect on metabolism, adipose and endothelial cell function, and cardiovascular risk in both men and women. A focal point in this contest is represented by the possible gender-specific regulation of different tissues and in particular of the adipose cell...

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome is increasing in African populations, and is particularly high in Black South African women (42%) vs women in the United Kingdom (23%) and the United States of America (36%). This population group is also known to have the highest prevalence of obesity in the sub-Saharan African region (42%), and consequently, a high risk of non-communicable diseases. In this article, we discuss factors (abdominal subcutaneous fat, visceral fat, lean mass, adiponectin, leptin, vitamin D, smoking and menopausal status) that have been investigated for their possible association with metabolic syndrome in African women, and discuss some recommendations for management of the syndrome...

BACKGROUND: Obesity is a worldwide prevalent disease and is an underlying factor of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). It has been understood as a chronic inflammatory state, being associated with the production of adipokines. The aim of this study was to analyze the levels of adipokines in the serum, visceral, and subcutaneous fat and to compare them with hepatic histopathology in morbidly obese patients. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional observational study, which analyzed the findings of liver biopsy in patients undergoing bariatric surgery and who had performed analysis of adipokines mRNA expression (adiponectin-ADIPOQ, leptin-LEP, and resistin-RETN) in subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue and circulating adipokines in serum...

CONTEXT: High-fat diets and chronic stress are prevalent risk factors for various chronic diseases in modern societies. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effect of high-fat diet on glucose-related metabolic responses to chronic foot-shock stress. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Male rats were divided into high-fat diet (containing 54.21% saturated and 44.89% unsaturated fatty acids) and normal diet groups and then into stress and non-stress subgroups...

As in humans, obesity and its associated diseases represent the most significant threat to the health of veterinary populations. Previous human studies have provided insights into the risk factors of obesity, complex pathogenesis of obesity-associated diseases, and their life-threatening consequences. In humans, the "metabolic syndrome" represents a cluster of metabolic risk factors associated with the development of cardiovascular disease. Risk factors for metabolic syndrome, such as diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, and its complications increase health-care utilization and medical expenses...

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is accompanied by deterioration in body composition and severe muscle atrophy. These changes put individuals at risk for insulin resistance, type II diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. To determine the relationships between skeletal muscle mitochondrial mass, activity, and body composition, 22 men with motor complete SCI were studied. Body composition assessment was performed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and magnetic resonance imaging. Skeletal muscle biopsies were obtained from the vastus lateralis muscle to measure citrate synthase (CS) and complex III (CIII) activity...

INTRODUCTION: Chronic inflammation is a major risk factor in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is the true visceral fat depot of the heart. The relationship between coronary artery disease and EAT was shown in healthy subjects and ESRD patients. In the present study we aimed to investigate the relationship between EAT and inflammation parameters including neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in hemodialysis (HD) patients...

The overweight and obesity epidemic has led to an increase in the metabolic syndrome and associated cardiovascular disease (CVD). These abnormalities include insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus, vascular stiffness, hypertension, stroke, and coronary heart disease. Visceral white adipocyte tissue (WAT) expansion and associated fibrosis/stiffness of WAT promote insulin resistance and CVD through increases in proinflammatory adipokines, oxidative stress, activation of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, dysregulation of adipocyte apoptosis and autophagy, dysfunctional immune modulation, and adverse changes in the gut microbiome...

BACKGROUND: Body mass index (BMI) has been found to associate with different parameters of chronic periodontal disease in previous studies. It is reasonable to expect that central adiposity measures, such as waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio, which indirectly takes into account visceral fat, are more accurate measures of obesity-related oral health risks than BMI. The aim of this study was to examine whether central obesity is associated with periodontal pocketing, an indication of infectious chronic periodontal disease...

PURPOSE: Overweight and underweight conditions are considered relative contraindications to lung transplantation due to their association with excess mortality. Yet, recent work suggests that body mass index (BMI) does not accurately reflect adipose tissue mass in adults with advanced lung diseases. Alternative and more accurate measures of adiposity are needed. Chest fat estimation by routine computed tomography (CT) imaging may therefore be important for identifying high-risk lung transplant candidates...

One of adipokines involved in the development of insulin resistance is retinol-binding protein 4(RBP4). The physiological role of RBP4 is transport of retinol from the liver to peripheral tissues. One of the first events related to the excessive visceral fat accumulation is the development of inflammation followed by hormonal adipose tissue dysfunction, including excessive RBP4 production. Reduced density of the membrane-type glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) is considered as a direct cause for the stimulation of RBP4 release to the circulation by adipocytes...

INTRODUCTION: Adipose tissue exerts widespread effects on the metabolism and immune system, but its activity differs between the genders. In the general population low-grade adipose tissue inflammation contributes to development of diseases of affluence. Little is known about the systemic impact of peripheral fat tissue in osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), characterized by chronic, low- and high-grade systemic inflammation, respectively. To clarify this we evaluated the secretory activity of subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue (SAAT) obtained from male patients affected with RA (n = 21) and OA (n = 13), and assessed its association with body mass and composition, demographic, clinical and laboratory data...

Glucocorticoids (GCs) are steroid hormones, naturally produced by activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, that mediate the immune and metabolic systems. Synthetic GCs are used to treat a number of inflammatory conditions and diseases including lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. Generally, chronic or high dose GC administration is associated with side effects such as steroid-induced skeletal muscle loss, visceral adiposity, and diabetes development. Patients who are taking exogenous GCs could also be more susceptible to poor food choices, but the effect that increasing fat consumption in combination with elevated exogenous GCs has only recently been investigated...

The term metabolic syndrome (MeS) refers to a cluster of associated symptoms composed of impaired fasting glucose, abdominal obesity, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. MeS is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular and diabetes-associated morbidity and mortality. The increased amount of visceral fat together with a chronic inflammatory state predisposes to the development of arteriosclerosis. Furthermore, insulin resistance (IR) and dyslipidemia are associated with fatty liver disease. In addition, MeS is linked to non-cardiovascular diseases such as cancer as well as psychiatric or endocrine disorders...