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Visceral fat is an independent predictor of all-cause mortality in men

Jennifer L Kuk1, Peter T Katzmarzyk, Milton Z Nichaman

  • 1School of Physical and Health Education, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada.

Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.)
|March 31, 2006
PubMed

Insights

Visceral fat is a significant predictor of mortality in men. Increased abdominal visceral fat, but not subcutaneous or liver fat, independently predicts all-cause mortality.

Area of Science:

  • Metabolic health and longevity research
  • Cardiovascular and metabolic disease risk factors

Background:

  • Abdominal fat depots, including visceral and subcutaneous fat, and liver fat are increasingly recognized as significant contributors to metabolic dysfunction.
  • Understanding the independent associations of these fat depots with mortality is crucial for public health and clinical risk assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the independent relationships between visceral fat, subcutaneous abdominal fat, and liver fat with all-cause mortality in men.
  • To determine which abdominal fat measure is the strongest predictor of mortality.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort of 291 men underwent computed tomography (CT) scans to quantify visceral, subcutaneous abdominal, and liver fat.
  • Mortality follow-up was conducted over an average of 2.2 years.
  • Logistic regression analysis was employed to assess the association between fat depots and all-cause mortality, controlling for relevant covariates.

Main Results:

  • Visceral fat, abdominal subcutaneous fat, and waist circumference were individually associated with increased all-cause mortality.
  • Liver fat showed an inverse association with mortality.
  • In a multivariable model, only visceral fat remained a significant independent predictor of all-cause mortality.

Conclusions:

  • Visceral fat is a potent and independent predictor of all-cause mortality in men.
  • These findings highlight the critical role of visceral adiposity in determining long-term health outcomes.
Abstract

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