Indirect measure of visceral adiposity 'A Body Shape Index' (ABSI) is associated with arterial stiffness in patients with type 2 diabetes

Ryotaro Bouchi; Masahiro Asakawa; Norihiko Ohara; Yujiro Nakano; Takato Takeuchi; Masanori Murakami; Yuriko Sasahara; Mitsuyuki Numasawa; Isao Minami; Hajime Izumiyama; Koshi Hashimoto; Takanobu Yoshimoto; Yoshihiro Ogawa

doi:10.1136/bmjdrc-2015-000188

Indirect measure of visceral adiposity 'A Body Shape Index' (ABSI) is associated with arterial stiffness in patients with type 2 diabetes

BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care. 2016 Mar 18;4(1):e000188. doi: 10.1136/bmjdrc-2015-000188. eCollection 2016.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Molecular Endocrinology and Metabolism , Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University , Tokyo , Japan.
² Department of Molecular Endocrinology and Metabolism, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan; Center for Medical Welfare and Liaison Services, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
³ Department of Molecular Endocrinology and Metabolism, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Preemptive Medicine and Metabolism, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
⁴ Department of Molecular Endocrinology and Metabolism, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan; Department of CREST, Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, Tokyo, Japan.

Abstract

Objective: Among indirect measures of visceral adiposity, A Body Shape Index (ABSI), which is defined as waist circumference (WC)/(body mass index (BMI)(2/3)×height(1/2)), is unique in that ABSI is positively correlated with visceral adiposity and is supposed to be independent of BMI. ABSI has been also shown to be linearly and positively associated with visceral fat mass and all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the general population. It is, however, uncertain whether ABSI could be associated with arterial stiffness in patients with diabetes.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of 607 patients with type 2 diabetes (mean age 64±12 years; 40.0% female). Visceral fat area (VFA, cm(2)) and subcutaneous fat area (SFA, cm(2)) were assessed with a dual-impedance analyzer. In order to estimate the risk for CVD, brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV, cm) was used for the assessment of arterial stiffness.

Results: ABSI was significantly and positively correlated with VFA (r=0.138, p=0.001) and negatively associated with BMI (r=-0.085, p=0.037). The correlation of z-score for ABSI with VFA remained significant (r=0.170, p<0.001) but not with BMI (r=0.009, p=0.820). ABSI (standardized β 0.095, p=0.043) but not WC (standardized β -0.060, p=0.200) was significantly and positively correlated with baPWV in the multivariate model including BMI as a covariate.

Conclusions: ABSI appears to reflect visceral adiposity independently of BMI and to be a substantial marker of arterial stiffening in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Keywords: Anthropometry; Arterial Stiffness; Type 2 Diabetes; Visceral Obesity.