The Relationships between Metabolic Disorders (Hypertension, Dyslipidemia, and Impaired Glucose Tolerance) and Computed Tomography-Based Indices of Hepatic Steatosis or Visceral Fat Accumulation in Middle-Aged Japanese Men

• Published in: PloS one 2016-03, Vol.11 (3), p.e0149689-e0149689
• Main Authors: Fujibayashi, Kazutoshi, Gunji, Toshiaki, Yokokawa, Hirohide, Naito, Toshio, Sasabe, Noriko, Okumura, Mitsue, Iijima, Kimiko, Shibuya, Katsuhiko, Hisaoka, Teruhiko, Fukuda, Hiroshi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accumulation; Adipose Tissue - metabolism; Adipose Tissue - pathology; Adult; Aged; Biology and Life Sciences; Body Mass Index; Cardiovascular disease; CAT scans; Computation; Computed tomography; Correlation analysis; Diabetes mellitus; Diagnostic systems; Disorders; Dyslipidemia; Dyslipidemias - epidemiology; Dyslipidemias - metabolism; Dyslipidemias - pathology; Fatty liver; Fatty Liver - epidemiology; Fatty Liver - metabolism; Fatty Liver - pathology; Glucose; Glucose - metabolism; Glucose tolerance; Humans; Hypertension; Hypertension - epidemiology; Hypertension - metabolism; Hypertension - pathology; Insulin resistance; Insulin Resistance - genetics; Intra-Abdominal Fat - metabolism; Intra-Abdominal Fat - pathology; Japan; Liver; Liver diseases; Longitudinal studies; Male; Medical research; Medicine and Health Sciences; Metabolic disorders; Metabolic syndrome; Metabolic Syndrome - epidemiology; Metabolic Syndrome - metabolism; Metabolic Syndrome - pathology; Middle Aged; Preventive medicine; Risk Factors; Spleen; Steatosis; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0149689

Most studies on the relationships between metabolic disorders (hypertension, dyslipidemia, and impaired glucose tolerance) and hepatic steatosis (HS) or visceral fat accumulation (VFA) have been cross-sectional, and thus, these relationships remain unclear. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to clarify the relationships between components of metabolic disorders and HS/VFA. The participants were 615 middle-aged men who were free from serious liver disorders, diabetes, and HS/VFA and underwent multiple general health check-ups at our institution between 2009 and 2013. The data from the initial and final check-ups were used. HS and VFA were assessed by computed tomography. HS was defined as a liver to spleen attenuation ratio of ≤1.0. VFA was defined as a visceral fat cross-sectional area of ≥100 cm2 at the level of the navel. Metabolic disorders were defined using Japan's metabolic syndrome diagnostic criteria. The participants were divided into four groups based on the presence (+) or absence (-) of HS/VFA. The onset rates of each metabolic disorder were compared among the four groups. Among the participants, 521, 55, 24, and 15 were classified as HS(-)/VFA(-), HS(-)/VFA(+), HS(+)/VFA(-), and HS(+)/VFA(+), respectively, at the end of the study. Impaired glucose tolerance was more common among the participants that exhibited HS or VFA (p = 0.05). On the other hand, dyslipidemia was more common among the participants that displayed VFA (p = 0.01). It is likely that VFA is associated with impaired glucose tolerance and dyslipidemia, while HS might be associated with impaired glucose tolerance. Unfortunately, our study failed to detect associations between HS/VFA and metabolic disorders due to the low number of subjects that exhibited fat accumulation. Although our observational study had major limitations, we consider that it obtained some interesting results. HS and VFA might affect different metabolic disorders. Further large-scale longitudinal studies are needed to reveal the relationships between the components of metabolic disorders and HS/VFA.