Viscerally obese women with normal body weight have greater brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity than nonviscerally obese women with excessive body weight

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To confirm the association of visceral obesity and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and to compare metabolic indices and baPWV between individuals who have normal body weight but are viscerally obese and individuals with excessive body weight who are not viscerally obese. PATIENTS AND MEASUREMENTS: We recruited a total of 150 women, aged 22 to 67 years. We assessed body composition, measured by computed tomography (CT), and divided the study population into four groups, based on visceral adipose tissue area (normal, normal body weight but viscerally obese, excessive body weight but not viscerally obese, and excessive body weight and viscerally obese). The baPWV was measured, using a volume plethysmographic instrument. RESULTS: Despite lower levels of total body fat, the women who had a normal body weight but were viscerally obese had a higher plasma triglyceride level and baPWV measurement and greater subcutaneous fat area (SFA) and thigh SFA than the women with excessive body weight who were not viscerally obese. After adjustment for age, mean blood pressure (BP), body mass index (BMI), triglyceride levels, fasting insulin levels, and free fatty acid (FFA) levels, baPWV was independently correlated with abdominal visceral fat area, as measured by CT (P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Mean baPWV was higher in women with normal body weight who were viscerally obese than in women who had excessive body weight but were not viscerally obese, and abdominal visceral fat was an independent factor for baPWV. These results suggest that early detection and intervention in viscerally obese individuals, even those within a normal BMI range, could be needed to prevent atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease (CVD).