Ultrasound measurement of visceral fat in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis

• Published in: Ultraschall in der Medizin - European Journal of Ultrasound
• Main Authors: Alempijevic, T, Jesic, R, Milicic, B, Jovanovic, I, Kovacevic, N, Macut, D, Krstic, M
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: 15.05.2008
• ISSN: 0172-4614; 1438-8782
• DOI: 10.1055/s-2008-1079736

Purpose: Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a chronic, progressive liver disease ultimately leading to hepatic failure and death if not treated by hepatic transplant. Serum lipids are often markedly elevated in PBC, but it is not clear if this hyperlipidemia is associated with accelerated atherosclerosis. The metabolic syndrome, which has received increased attention in the past few years, consists of multiple, interrelated risk factors of metabolic origin that appear to directly promote the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The most important of these underlying risk factors are abdominal obesity and insulin resistance. The purpose of this study was anthropometric and ultrasonography measurement of abdominal adiposity in patients with PBC, and to compare these values with healthy control subject. Methods: We studied 20 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis, 2 men and 18 women. Anthropometric measurements included age, sex, weight, height, body mass index, and waist circumference. We have used ultrasonography to measure subcutaneous and visceral fat, as well as perirenal adipose tissue. Collected data were compared to 25 healthy subjects matched by sex and age. Results: Studied subjects were 55.65±10.88 years – old, while the mean age of control group was 48.68±7.87 years. BMI in study group was 25.386±2.753 whereas it was 26.540±3.543 in control group. Subcutaneous, visceral and perirenal fat thickness among studied subjects were 19.23±5.85, 10.92±3.63, and 7.03±1.82, respectively. In control group, these measurements were 22.73±6.70, 16.84±5.51 and 10.50±2.70. Subcutaneous and visceral fat areas has been estimate to 983.64±322.68 and 403.64±166.97 correspondingly among PBC patients, while among controls it was 1124.89±366.01 and 720.57±272.50. Significant difference has been found for diameter and surface of visceral and perirenal fat. Conclusions: Our results indicate that ultrasonography is a reliable method for quantification of visceral fat. Since the amount of visceral fat plays an important role in development of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases, we concluded that the lower amount of visceral fat in PBC patients possibly is related to the lower incidence of cardiovasculare events among these patients.