Anthropometric cutoffs and associations with visceral adiposity and metabolic biomarkers after spinal cord injury

PLoS ONE, 2018 · DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0203049 · Published: August 31, 2018

Spinal Cord Injury Cardiovascular Science Physiology

Simple Explanation

This study explores the link between different ways of measuring belly fat and the risk of heart and metabolic diseases in men with spinal cord injuries. It also aims to find specific waist and abdominal circumference measurements that could help identify men with a higher risk of these diseases. The research suggests that simple measurements like waist and abdominal size are connected to both belly fat and factors that increase the risk of heart and metabolic diseases in people with SCI.

Study Duration

Not specified

Participants

22 men with chronic SCI

Evidence Level

Not specified

Key Findings

1
Seated/supine abdominal and waist circumferences were associated with MRI visceral fat cross-sectional area (VATCSA), VAT volume and CSA:TotalCSA.
2
Low density lipoprotein, non-high-density lipoprotein and total cholesterol were positively associated with seated/supine abdominal and waist circumferences after controlling for age.
3
Population-specific cutoffs were 86.5cm and 88.3cm for supine waist and abdominal circumferences, respectively, as well as 89cm and 101cm for seated waist and abdominal circumferences, respectively.

Research Summary

This study examined the associations of anthropometric measurements of central adiposity to visceral adipose tissue and cardiometabolic disease risk factors in men with SCI and determine population-specific seated/supine waist and abdominal circumference cutoffs. Seated/supine circumferences are associated with both central adiposity and biomarkers of cardiometabolic disease risk in persons with SCI. Population-specific cutoffs are proposed herein to identify central adiposity and potential cardiometabolic disease risk after SCI.

Practical Implications

Clinical assessment

The proposed cutoffs may better identify persons at risk of chronic cardiometabolic diseases than those used previously.

Early intervention

Determining whether men with SCI exceed these proposed site-specific anthropometric cutoffs might help facilitate earlier identification of persons at increased risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases and provide early prevention guidance.

Future Research

Future studies are necessary to cross-validate our proposed anthropometric cutoffs of central adiposity in persons with SCI and ascertain their validity in a larger sample size as well as in a female cohort.

Study Limitations

1
This study is limited by its cross-sectional design and small sample size.
2
This study lacks generalizability to females with SCI
3
It is not possible to comment on the role of physical activity in increased cardiometabolic disease risk in this population, as this variable was not measured in the current study.

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