Accumulation in Visceral Adipose Tissue Over 6 Years Is Associated With Lower Paraspinal Muscle Density

Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) has been recognized to be a metabolically active fat depot that may have paracrine effects on surrounding tissues, including muscle. Since many adults accumulate VAT as they age, the effect of changes in VAT on muscle is of interest.

We determined the association between 6-year changes in VAT and paraspinal muscle density, an indicator of fatty infiltration.

This study included 1145 participants from the Framingham Study third-generation cohort who had both quantitative computed tomography scans of the spine at baseline and 6-year's follow-up, on whom muscle density was measured along with VAT. We implemented multiple regression to determine the association of muscle density at follow-up as primary outcome measure with changes in VAT (follow-up minus baseline divided by 100), adjusting for VAT at baseline, age, sex, height, menopausal status, presence of diabetes, and physical activity. Analyses were performed in men and women separately.

After adjustment for covariates, individuals with the greatest accumulation of VAT over 6 years had significantly lower paraspinal density at the follow-up with an estimated 0.302 (95% CI, -0.380 to -0.224) and 0.476 (95% CI: -0.598 to -0.354) lower muscle density (HU) per 100-cm3 increase in VAT (both P values < .001) in men and women, respectively.

These results highlight that age-related accumulation of VAT in men and women is associated with lower muscle density. VAT may represent a modifiable risk factor for poor musculoskeletal outcomes with aging.