Using abdominal bioelectrical impedance to measure visceral fat area and cholesterol qualitative markers for assessing the risk of metabolic syndrome in children

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K19687
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 59040:Nutrition science and health science-related
• Research Institution: Nihon University
• Principal Investigator: ABE Yuriko 日本大学, 医学部, 准教授 (70750660)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 内臓脂肪 / コレステロールサブクラス / メタボリックシンドローム / 小児

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Evaluating visceral fat accumulation is important for metabolic syndrome follow-up. Abdominal bioelectrical impedance analysis (aBIA) is used to measure visceral fat area (VFA) in adults. However, it is challenging to accurately measure VFA using aBIA in children because of their different body composition. The aims of this study were to assess VFA measured by aBIA (VFA (aBIA)) and to investigate relationships between VFA and cholesterol subclasses.
The corrected VFA (aBIA) correlated positively with VFA measured using abdominal CT in both boys and girls. The corrected VFA (aBIA) values in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) was higher than those in patients without NAFLD. Leptin levels also correlated positively with corrected VFA (aBIA). Adiponectin levels correlated negatively with corrected VFA (aBIA). Medium, small, and very small LDL cholesterol correlated positively with VFA. aBIA appears to provide a useful method to detect metabolic risks in children.

Free Research Field

小児生活習慣病

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

小児メタボリックシンドロームは、成人の生活習慣病へ直結する。本研究は、放射線被爆のない内臓脂肪計(aBIA)による内臓脂肪面積測定を行い、その有用性を発見した。また、メタボリックシンドロームに基づく動脈硬化性のリスクを評価する為、コレステロールサブクラス解析を行い明らかにした。本研究により、負担が少ない方法でより詳細にリスクを評価する事が可能となり、小児期からの適切な予防とフォローアップに繋がる。