Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine (Mar 2021)

Associations between trunk-to-peripheral fat ratio and cardiometabolic risk factors in elderly Japanese men: baseline data from the Fujiwara-kyo Osteoporosis Risk in Men (FORMEN) study

  • Katsuyasu Kouda,
  • Yuki Fujita,
  • Kumiko Ohara,
  • Takahiro Tachiki,
  • Junko Tamaki,
  • Akiko Yura,
  • Jong-Seong Moon,
  • Etsuko Kajita,
  • Kazuhiro Uenishi,
  • Masayuki Iki

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12199-021-00959-9
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 26, no. 1
pp. 1 – 12

Abstract

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Abstract Background Body mass-independent parameters might be more appropriate for assessing cardiometabolic abnormalities than weight-dependent indices in Asians who have relatively high visceral adiposity but low body fat. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA)-measured trunk-to-peripheral fat ratio is one such body mass-independent index. However, there are no reports on relationships between DXA-measured regional fat ratio and cardiometabolic risk factors targeting elderly Asian men. Methods We analyzed cross-sectional data of 597 elderly men who participated in the baseline survey of the Fujiwara-kyo Osteoporosis Risk in Men (FORMEN) study, a community-based single-center prospective cohort study conducted in Japan. Whole-body fat and regional fat were measured with a DXA scanner. Trunk-to-appendicular fat ratio (TAR) was calculated as trunk fat divided by appendicular fat (sum of arm and leg fat), and trunk-to-leg fat ratio (TLR) as trunk fat divided by leg fat. Results Both TAR and TLR in the group of men who used ≥ 1 medication for hypertension, dyslipidemia, or diabetes (“user group”; N = 347) were significantly larger than those who did not use such medication (“non-user group”; N = 250) (P < 0.05). After adjusting for potential confounding factors including whole-body fat, both TAR and TLR were significantly associated with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride, fasting serum insulin, and the insulin resistance index in the non-user group and non-overweight men in the non-user group (N = 199). Conclusion The trunk-to-peripheral fat ratio was associated with cardiometabolic risk factors independently of whole-body fat mass. Parameters of the fat ratio may be useful for assessing cardiometabolic risk factors, particularly in underweight to normal-weight populations.

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