Relationships of Obesity-Related Indices and Metabolic Syndrome with Subclinical Atherosclerosis in Middle-Aged Untreated Japanese Workers

Abstract

The official journal of the Japan Atherosclerosis Society and the Asian Pacific Society of Atherosclerosis and Vascular Diseases Original Article Aim: Obesity is a social problem due to the prevalence of the Western lifestyle. In particular, visceral fat accumulation, which is a main component of metabolic syndrome, is closely associated with the progression of atherosclerosis. This study aimed to investigate the relationships of obesity-related indices and metabolic syndrome with subclinical atherosclerosis in middle-aged untreated workers. Methods: Employees undergoing their periodic health checkup but without previous cardiovascular events or cardiovascular medications were enrolled in this study (n 7,750). Body mass index (BMI), percent body fat, waist circumference, and visceral fat area were evaluated as obesity-related indices. Assessment of visceral fat area was performed by computed tomography (CT). Subclinical atherosclerosis was assessed by measuring arterial stiffness using cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) and by ultrasound examination of carotid intima-media thickness (IMT). Results: Obesity-related indices were significantly correlated with each other and were positively associated with carotid IMT but negatively associated with CAVI in multivariate regression analysis. In a logistic regression analysis including CAVI and carotid IMT simultaneously, CAVI was negatively associated, but carotid IMT was positively associated, with obesity defined by each obesity-related index. In contrast, both CAVI and carotid IMT were positively associated with the presence of metabolic syndrome based on visceral fat accumulation. Conclusions: Obesity-related indices were negatively associated with CAVI and positively associated with carotid IMT in middle-aged untreated workers, while both CAVI and carotid IMT were worsened in the presence of metabolic syndrome. index (BMI) is simply calculated by anthropometric measurements of body weight and body height and is conveniently and widely used for the diagnosis of obesity 1-3). The World Health Organization (WHO) defines the conditions of being overweight and obesity based on a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m 2 and ≥ 30 kg/m 2 , respectively, and Copyright©2020 Japan Atherosclerosis Society This article is distributed under the terms of the latest version of CC BY-NC-SA defined by the Creative Commons Attribution License.

Cellular Senescence and Vitamin D Deficiency Play a Role in the Pathogenesis of Obesity-Associated Subclinical Atherosclerosis: Study of the Potential Protective Role of Vitamin D Supplementation

“…These findings are in agreement with Csige et al [ 41 ] and Sugiura et al [ 42 ]. It is reported that obesity has an association with abnormal function and structure of myocardial muscle with an increased risk for the development of subclinical myocardial damage, as indicated by higher levels of cardiac troponin-T(hs-cTnT) [ 43 ], a similar result to the current study.…”

Examination of Large Artery Atherosclerosis could Reveal Small Artery Retinopathy in Untreated Middle-Aged Individuals

“…Carotid plaque was found in 1,110 of the 7,730 enrolled individuals. Most of the enrolled individuals were classified as H0 grade (i.e., laboratory assays as described previously 32) . Concentrations of glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography and expressed according to the National Glycohemoglobin Standardization Program.…”

“…The IMT of the carotid artery was assessed by ultrasound using the Aplio 500 device (Canon Medical Systems, Otawara, Japan), as described previously 32) . All estimations of carotid IMT and plaque were performed by well-trained clinical laboratory technicians who were blinded to other clinical information.…”

“…Atherosclerosis examinations are widely performed, and CAVI and carotid IMT are representatives of functional and morphological assessments in large muscular and elastic arteries [17][18][19][20][21][22][23] . The usefulness of atherosclerotic examinations has been established not only in individuals with progressive atherosclerosis in clinical settings, but also in the asymptomatic general population at health check-ups 19,20,23,[32][33][34][35] . The ability to detect subclinical atherosclerosis in asymptomatic individuals is not so great with a single examination, though it could be improved by combining the examinations.…”

Is Stiffness Parameter β Useful for the Evaluation of Atherosclerosis?~ Its Clinical Implications, Limitations, and Future Perspectives ~

“…Insulin resistance underlies the metabolic syndrome, which consists of visceral obesity, hypertension, hyperglycemia, and dyslipidemia 53,54) . Therefore, there is an emerging interest in the relationship between arterial stiffness and visceral obesity and/or metabolic syndrome 53) .…”