Circulating 5α-dihydrotestosterone, abdominal obesity and adipocyte characteristics in women

Author(s):  
Julie A. Côté ◽  
Julie Lessard ◽  
Jacques Mailloux ◽  
Philippe Laberge ◽  
Caroline Rhéaume ◽  
...  

AbstractThe association between circulating androgen levels and fat distribution in women has been widely inconsistent among existing studies.We sought to investigate the relation between plasma adrenal and gonadal androgen levels and body fat distribution, as well as abdominal adipocyte characteristics.Paired omental and subcutaneous adipose tissue samples were surgically obtained from 60 women (age, 47±5 years; body mass index, 26±5 kg/mSignificant negative associations were found between plasma dihydrotestosterone (DHT) levels and total adiposity (body mass index, r=–0.35, p<0.05; fat mass, r=–0.31, p<0.05) as well as computed tomography assessments of abdominal adiposity (r=–0.30, p<0.05 and r=–0.44, p<0.005 for subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue area, respectively). The association between DHT levels and visceral adipose tissue area was independent of total body fat mass. A significant negative association was also observed between plasma DHT and omental adipocyte diameter (r=–0.27, p<0.05). When expressed as the omental/subcutaneous ratio, heparin-releasable lipoprotein lipase activity was negatively and significantly related to plasma DHT, androstenedione, and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) levels.Abdominally obese women with large, metabolically active omental adipocytes appear to be characterized by reduced endogenous levels of DHT. The assumption that high androgen levels are associated with an android body fat distribution pattern in women should be critically re-examined.

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (14) ◽  
pp. 1548-1557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilse M Schrover ◽  
Yolanda van der Graaf ◽  
Wilko Spiering ◽  
Frank LJ Visseren

Introduction We evaluated the relationship between adipokine plasma concentrations and body fat distribution and the metabolic syndrome. Methods In a cohort of 1215 patients with clinically manifest vascular disease the relation between subcutaneous adipose tissue, visceral adipose tissue, waist circumference, body mass index and plasma concentrations of adipsin, chemerin, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, migration inhibitory factor, nerve growth factor, resistin, plasma amyloid A1, adiponectin, leptin, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 and hepatic growth factor were cross-sectionally assessed with linear regression and adjusted for age and gender. The relation between adipokines and the metabolic syndrome was cross-sectionally evaluated using logistic regression. An adipokine profile was developed to measure the effect of combined rather than single adipokines. Results Adiposity was related to higher nerve growth factor, hepatic growth factor, migration inhibitory factor, leptin and adipsin and with lower chemerin, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, resistin, plasma amyloid A1 and adiponectin. The strongest positive relations were between body mass index and adipsin (β 0.247; 95% CI 0.137–0.356) and leptin (β 0.266; 95% CI 0.207–0.324); the strongest negative relations were between body mass index and plasma amyloid A1 (β –0.266; 95% CI –0.386 to –0.146) and visceral adipose tissue and adiponectin (β –0.168; 95% CI –0.226 to –0.111). There was no relation between subcutaneous adipose tissue and adipokines. Odds for the metabolic syndrome were higher with each 1 SD higher hepatic growth factor (OR 1.21; 95% CI 1.06–1.38) and leptin (OR 1.26; 95% CI 1.10–1.45) and lower with each 1 SD higher adiponectin (OR 0.73; 95% CI 0.64–0.83) and resistin (OR 0.85; 95% CI 0.74–0.97). The adipokine profile was related to the metabolic syndrome (OR 1.03; 95% CI 1.00–1.06). Conclusion Plasma concentrations of adipokines are related to obesity and body fat distribution. The relation between adipokine concentrations and the metabolic syndrome is independent of visceral adipose tissue.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 328-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Søren Gullaksen ◽  
Kristian Løkke Funck ◽  
Esben Laugesen ◽  
Troels Krarup Hansen ◽  
Damini Dey ◽  
...  

Objectives: Coronary atherosclerosis in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus may be promoted by regional fat distribution. We investigated the association between anthropometric measures of obesity, truncal fat mass, epicardial adipose tissue and coronary atherosclerosis in asymptomatic patients and matched controls. Methods: We examined 44 patients and 59 controls [mean (standard deviation) age 64.4 ± 9.9 vs 61.8 ± 9.7, male 50% vs 47%, diabetes duration mean (standard deviation) 7.7 ± 1.5] with coronary computed tomography angiography. Coronary plaques were quantified as total, calcified, non-calcified and low-density non-calcified plaque volumes (mm3). Regional fat distribution was assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, body mass index (kg/m2), waist circumference (cm) and epicardial fat volume (mm3). Endothelial function and systemic inflammation were evaluated by peripheral arterial tonometry (log transformed Reactive Hyperemia Index) and C-reactive protein (mg/L). Results: Body mass index and waist circumference ( p < 0.02) were associated with coronary plaque volumes. Body mass index was associated with low-density non-calcified plaque volume after adjustment for age, sex and diabetes status ( p < 0.01). Truncal fat mass ( p > 0.51), waist circumference ( p > 0.06) and epicardial adipose tissue ( p > 0.17) were not associated with coronary plaque volumes in adjusted analyses. Conclusion: Body mass index is associated with coronary plaque volumes in diabetic as well as non-diabetic individuals.


QJM ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 113 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
N A Mohamed ◽  
A A Seif ◽  
M S Abdelhamid ◽  
R S A Eissa

Abstract Background Obesity is a worldwide problem and is a major risk factor for chronic diseases. The relation between obesity and vitamin D is not completely understood. Obesity is associated with vitamin D insufficiency. Some studies claim that vitamin D may reduce lipogenesis and others claim that vitamin D can promote adipogenesis. Aim of the study This study was planned to evaluate the effect of alteration in vitamin D level on body weight and adipose tissue metabolism in an obese rat model. Methods 32 Female Albino-rats were randomly allocated into: control group (C, n = 8), fed on control diet containing 1000 IU vitamin D/kg diet, and a high caloric diet group (HCD, n = 32). The HCD group was further subdivided into 3 groups according to the vitamin D dose into: standard vitamin D dose group (HCD+SVD) containing 1000 IU vitamin D/kg diet, low vitamin D dose group (HCD+LVD) containing 25 IU vitamin D/kg diet and high vitamin D dose group (HCD+HVD) containing 5169 IU vitamin D/kg diet. Body mass index, serum vitamin D, glucose, lipid profile, TNF-α and adipose tissue UCP-1 were measured. Different fat depots were weighed and histopathologically assessed. Results HCD+HVD group showed a significant increase in the final body mass index and in the different fat depot weights compared to all groups. Compared to the HCD+SVD group, the HCD+HVD group showed significantly lower serum total cholesterol and LDL-c levels, while it showed a non-significant change in serum glucose, TNF-α and visceral adipose tissue UCP-1. A significant negative correlation was found between serum 25(OH)D and visceral adipose tissue UCP-1. HCD+LVD showed the highest visceral adipose tissue UCP-1 compared to all groups. Conclusion Vitamin D promoted adiposity and decreased visceral adipose tissue UCP-1 but improved the associated derangements in lipid profile.


2018 ◽  
Vol 199 (4S) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Stern ◽  
Sherif Armanyous ◽  
Erick Remer ◽  
Ryan Ward ◽  
Joshua Augustine ◽  
...  

2008 ◽  
Vol 93 (5) ◽  
pp. 1931-1938 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amélie Cartier ◽  
Isabelle Lemieux ◽  
Natalie Alméras ◽  
Angelo Tremblay ◽  
Jean Bergeron ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: This study examined the relationships of two inflammatory cytokines, IL-6 and TNF-α, to visceral adiposity and indices of plasma glucose-insulin homeostasis. Research Design and Methods: Plasma levels of IL-6 and TNF-α were measured in 189 untreated asymptomatic men (aged 43.7 ± 7.8 yr; body mass index 29.0 ± 4.3 kg/m2; waist girth 98.6 ± 10.3 cm). Results: Significant and positive associations were found between both cytokines with adiposity and adipose tissue distribution indices (0.15 ≤ r &lt; 0.32; P &lt; 0.05) as well as plasma glucose-insulin homeostasis variables (0.22 ≤ r &lt; 0.28; P &lt;0.05). Comparison of two subgroups, each composed of 32 overweight men (≥25 kg/m2) with similar body mass index values (28.7 kg/m2 in both groups) but with markedly different levels of visceral adipose tissue (&lt; vs. ≥ 130 cm2), revealed significant differences only for IL-6 levels (1.42 ± 1.15 vs. 0.86 ± 0.52 pg/ml; P &lt; 0.02 for men with high vs. low visceral adipose tissue, respectively). Finally, when subjects were stratified on the basis of their respective concentrations of IL-6 and TNF-α (using the 50th percentile of their overall distribution), an ANOVA revealed an independent contribution of IL-6 to the variation of fasting insulin (P &lt; 0.01) and each of these two cytokines to the variation of insulin levels measured after a 75-g oral glucose challenge (P &lt;0.01 for IL-6 and P &lt; 0.05 for TNF-α). Conclusions: Because IL-6 appeared to be clearly associated with visceral adiposity, TNF-α rather showed associations with indices of total body fatness. Thus, TNF-α may contribute to the insulin resistance of overall obesity, whereas IL-6 may be one of the mediators of the hyperinsulinemic state specifically related to excess visceral adiposity.


2001 ◽  
Vol 86 (3) ◽  
pp. 1020-1025 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Brochu ◽  
André Tchernof ◽  
Isabelle J. Dionne ◽  
Cynthia K. Sites ◽  
Georgia H. Eltabbakh ◽  
...  

Although obesity is often associated with insulin resistance and a cluster of metabolic disturbances, the existence of a subgroup of healthy but obese individuals has been postulated. It is unclear why some obese individuals fail to show traditional risk factors associated with the insulin resistance syndrome despite having a very high accumulation of body fat. To address this issue, we identified and studied a subgroup of metabolically normal but obese (MNO) postmenopausal women to gain insight into potential physiological factors that may protect them against the development of obesity-related comorbidities. We carefully examined the metabolic characteristics of 43 obese, sedentary postmenopausal women (mean ± sd, 58.0± 6.0 yr). Subjects were classified as MNO or as metabolically abnormal obese (MAO) based on an accepted cut-point for insulin sensitivity (measured by the hyperinsulinemic/euglycemic clamp technique). Thereafter, we determined 1) body composition (fat mass and lean body mass), 2) body fat distribution (abdominal visceral and sc adipose tissue areas, midthigh sc adipose tissue and muscle attenuation), 3) plasma lipid-lipoprotein levels, 4) plasma glucose and insulin concentrations, 5) resting blood pressure, 6) peak oxygen consumption, 7) physical activity energy expenditure, and 8) age-related onset of obesity with a questionnaire as potential modulators of differences in the risk profile. We identified 17 MNO subjects who displayed high insulin sensitivity (11.2 ± 2.6 mg/min·kg lean body mass) and 26 MAO subjects with lower insulin sensitivity (5.7 ± 1.1 mg/min·kg lean body mass). Despite comparable total body fatness between groups (45.2 ± 5.3% vs. 44.8 ± 6.6%; P = NS), MNO individuals had 49% less visceral adipose tissue than MAO subjects (141 ± 53 vs. 211 ± 85 cm2; P &lt; 0.01). No difference was noted between groups for abdominal sc adipose tissue (453 ± 126 vs. 442 ± 144 cm2; P = NS), total fat mass (38.1 ± 10.6 vs. 40.0 ± 11.8 kg), muscle attenuation (42.2± 2.6 vs. 43.6 ± 4.8 Houndsfield units), and physical activity energy expenditure (1060 ± 323 vs. 1045 ± 331 Cal/day). MNO subjects had lower fasting plasma glucose and insulin concentrations and lower insulin levels during the oral glucose tolerance test (P values ranging between 0.01–0.001). No difference was observed between groups for 2-h glucose levels and glucose area during the oral glucose tolerance test. MNO subjects showed lower plasma triglycerides and higher high density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations than MAO individuals (P &lt; 0.01 in both cases). Results from the questionnaire indicated that 48% of the MNO women presented an early onset of obesity (&lt;20 yr old) compared with 29% of the MAO subjects (P = 0.09). Stepwise regression analysis showed that visceral adipose tissue and the age-related onset of obesity explained 22% and 13%, respectively, of the variance observed in insulin sensitivity (total r2 = 0.35; P &lt; 0.05 in both cases). Our results support the existence of a subgroup of obese but metabolically normal postmenopausal women who display high levels of insulin sensitivity despite having a high accumulation of body fat. This metabolically normal profile is associated with a lower accumulation of visceral adipose tissue and an earlier age-related onset of obesity.


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