Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 26, 2025
Author Spotlight: Enhancing Transplantation Research Through MicroCT Angiography in Murine Models
Published on: September 22, 2023
High visceral adipose tissue area is independently associated with early allograft dysfunction in liver
Guanjie Yuan1, Shichao Li1, Ping Liang1
1Department of Radiology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei, China.
Objectives:
To evaluate the association between adipose tissue distribution and early allograft dysfunction (EAD) in liver transplantation (LT) recipients.
Methods:
A total of 175 patients who received LT from April 2015 to September 2020 were enrolled in this retrospective study. The areas of abdominal adipose tissue and skeletal muscle of all patients were measured based on the preoperative CT images. The appropriate statistical methods including the propensity score-matched (PSM) analysis were performed to identify the association between adipose tissue distribution and EAD.
Results:
Of 175 LT recipients, 55 patients (31.4%) finally developed EAD. The multivariate logistic analysis revealed that preoperative serum albumin (odds ratio (OR) 0.34, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.17-0.70), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (OR 2.35, 95% CI 1.18-4.79), and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) area (OR 3.17, 95% CI 1.56-6.43) were independent associated with EAD. After PSM analysis, VAT area was still significantly associated with EAD (OR 3.95, 95% CI 1.16-13.51). In survival analysis, no significant difference was identified in one-year graft failure (log-rank: p = 0.487), and conversely result was identified in overall survival (OS) (log-rank: p = 0.012; hazard ratio (HR) 4.10, 95% CI 1.27-13.16).
Conclusions:
LT recipients with high VAT area have higher risk for the occurrence of EAD, and high VAT area might have certain clinical value for predicting the poor OS of patients. For LT candidates with large amount of VAT, the clinicians can take clinical interventions by suggesting physical and nutritional treatments to improve outcomes after LT.
