Visceral adipose tissue is a better predictor of subclinical carotid atherosclerosis compared with waist circumference

We investigated whether visceral adipose tissue (VAT) measured by ultrasonography is better than waist circumference (WC) in predicting the presence of subclinical carotid atherosclerosis. We recruited 100 individuals without a history of cardiovascular disease or diabetes mellitus. VAT volume was measured by ultrasonography and common carotid artery intima-media thickness (CCA-IMT) by B-mode ultrasonography. Both VAT and WC were positively associated with body mass index, triglycerides, uric acid, systolic/diastolic blood pressure and high sensitivity C-reactive protein and inversely correlated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. However, only VAT was associated with CCA-IMT (r=0.309, p=0.002). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that VAT, but not WC, was an independent predictor of carotid plaques after adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors (odds ratio [OR]=1.017, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.003-1.031, p=0.017), and this association persisted after additional adjustment for WC (OR=1.024, 95% CI=1.003-1.031, p=0.027). Our data suggest that VAT volume measured by ultrasonography may be a better predictor of subclinical carotid atherosclerosis than waist circumference in healthy individuals. © 2014 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology