Abdominal subcutaneous and visceral fat thickness in newborns: correlation with anthropometric and metabolic profile

To correlate abdominal subcutaneous and visceral fat thickness with anthropometric data and metabolic profile in newborns.

A cross-sectional study with 99 newborns was performed at Instituto de Medicina Integral Professor Fernando Figueira, Brazil. Abdominal subcutaneous and visceral thickness were measured by ultrasound. Glucose, insulin, homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides were determined. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated.

Abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness was positively correlated with birth weight (r=0.31; P<0.001), height (r=0.27; P<0.001) and abdominal circumference (r=0.26; P<0.001), but not with metabolic profile. Abdominal visceral fat thickness was correlated with abdominal circumference (r=0.23; P=0.01), insulin (r=0.21; P=0.04) and HOMA (r=0.24; P=0.02). The results remained the same among males and females.

Abdominal fat distribution in newborns has a different correlation with anthropometric and metabolic profile. Abdominal subcutaneous fat thickness is positively correlated with anthropometric data whereas abdominal visceral fat thickness is correlated with insulin and HOMA-IR.