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Pediatrics

Comparison of abdominal visceral adipose tissue measurements in adolescents between magnetic resonance imaging and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry

International Journal of Obesity volume 45, pages 104–108 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

Excess abdominal visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is associated with cardiometabolic risk factors in adolescents. VAT is mainly measured using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), yet dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is more affordable and available. The purpose was to compare adolescent VAT values obtained by MRI and DXA. A sample of 330 adolescents 10–16 years of age were recruited (52.3% female, 58.5% White). Abdominal VAT was measured using a General Electric (GE) Discovery MRI scanner with imaging software. A whole-body DXA (GE iDXA) scan was performed, and software calculated VAT within the android region. Wilcoxon signed-rank t-tests were used to determine differences between VAT values, within sex, race (White, African American, and Other race), and BMI categories (normal weight, overweight, and obese). VAT values from MRI and DXA were significantly correlated (r = 0.78, p < 0.001). Average VAT from MRI (0.54 ± 0.43 kg) was significantly higher than VAT from DXA (0.33 ± 0.39 kg) in the overall sample (p < 0.001) and within all subgroups (p < 0.001). All standardized values between the two measurements fell within ±1.96 standard deviations, and differences between the methods were not associated with level of VAT. In this sample, DXA values were correlated with MRI values, but DXA consistently underestimated VAT compared with MRI.

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Fig. 1: Bland–Altman plot of values.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the parents and adolescents who participated in the TIGER Kids Study. An abstract and poster of this work was presented at the American Heart Association – Epidemiology and Lifestyle Annual Conference in March of 2020.

Funding

This research was supported by the United States Department of Agriculture (3092-51000-056-04 A; ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02784509, PI: AES). This work was also partially supported by a NORC Center (grant no. P30DK072476, PI: ER) from the NIDDK entitled “Nutrition, Obesity, and Metabolic Health through the Lifespan” and U54 GM104940 from the NIGMS, which funds the Louisiana Clinical and Translational Science Center (PI: JK). CLK was supported by T32DK064584 from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the NIH. PTK was funded, in part, by the Marie Edana Corcoran Chair in Pediatric Obesity and Diabetes. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.

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  1. Pennington Biomedical Research Center, 6400 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge, LA, 70808, USA

    Chelsea L. Kracht, Peter T. Katzmarzyk & Amanda E. Staiano

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  1. Chelsea L. Kracht
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  2. Peter T. Katzmarzyk
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Correspondence to Amanda E. Staiano.

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Kracht, C.L., Katzmarzyk, P.T. & Staiano, A.E. Comparison of abdominal visceral adipose tissue measurements in adolescents between magnetic resonance imaging and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Int J Obes 45, 104–108 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-020-0621-8

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