Racial differences in abdominal depot-specific adiposity in white and African American adults

Abstract

Background: There is increasing interest in understanding racial differences in adiposity in specific body depots as a way to explain differential health risks associated with obesity.

Objective: Our aim was to examine the differences in abdominal visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) between white and African American adults.

Design: The sample included 1967 adults aged 18-84 y, including 790 white women, 435 African American women, 606 white men, and 136 African American men. Total body fat was measured by using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, whereas abdominal VAT and SAT cross-sectional areas (L4-L5 level) were measured by using computed tomography. Sex-specific differences in SAT and VAT between racial groups were analyzed by the use of general linear models, which controlled for age and total body fat. Additional models tested for racial differences in VAT and SAT and controlled for age, total body fat, smoking, and menopausal status. Statistical significance was accepted at P < 0.05.

Results: Abdominal VAT was significantly higher in white than in African American men and women, even after adjustment for covariates. White women had significantly lower SAT than did African American women, both before and after adjustment for covariates. White men had significantly higher SAT than did African American men, but after adjustment for covariates, their SAT was lower than that of African American men.

Conclusions: Abdominal visceral adiposity is significantly greater in white men and women. After adjustment for covariates, white men and women had significantly lower SAT than did African American men and women. The results of this study highlight the heterogeneity of human body fat distribution across racial groups.This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00959270.

Figures

FIGURE 1

Associations between abdominal (A) visceral adipose tissue (VAT) volume and area (L4–L5) and (B) subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) volume and area (L4–L5) in a subsample of 1034 men and women with multislice computed tomography scans available in the Pennington Center Longitudinal Study.

FIGURE 2

Mean (95% CI) abdominal visceral adipose tissue (VAT) area (L4–L5) in African American and white men and women. A: Age- and total fat mass–adjusted means. B: Means adjusted for age, total fat mass, smoking, and menopausal status (women only). Sex-specific differences in subcutaneous adipose tissue and VAT between racial groups were analyzed by the use of general linear models. The sample sizes were 136 African American men, 606 white men, 435 African American women, and 790 white women.

FIGURE 3

Mean (95% CI) abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) area (L4–L5) in African American and white men and women. A: Age- and total fat mass–adjusted means. B: Means adjusted for age, total fat mass, smoking, and menopausal status (women only). Sex-specific differences in SAT and visceral adipose tissue between racial groups were analyzed by the use of general linear models. The sample sizes were 136 African American men, 606 white men, 435 African American women, and 790 white women.

FIGURE 4

Mean (95% CI) abdominal visceral adipose tissue (VAT) area (top panels) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) area (bottom panels) in African American and white men and women aged

FIGURE 5

Relations between abdominal areas (L4–L5) of (A) visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and (B) subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and total body fat mass in African American men (AAM), white men (WM), African American women (AAW), and white women (WW). The sample sizes were 136 African American men, 606 white men, 435 African American women, and 790 white women.