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Association of adipose tissue blood flow with fat depot sizes and adipokines in women

International Journal of Obesity volume 36, pages 783–789 (2012)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective:

To explore possible associations between adipose tissue (AT) blood flow (ATBF), AT depot sizes and adipocyte-derived hormones (adipokines) in women.

Subjects:

In all, 43 healthy women were divided into four groups: normal-weight (n=11) and obese (n=11) pre-menopausal women and normal-weight (n=10) and obese (n=11) post-menopausal women.

Methods:

Fasting levels of adipokines were obtained, and a single-slice computed tomography scan at the level of L4–L5 was used to estimate fat depot sizes. ATBF was assessed by xenon washout while in a fasting state and after oral glucose load. We also measured glucose, insulin and non-esterified fatty acids.

Results:

Total, subcutaneous and visceral AT areas strongly correlated with ATBF (all P<0.001). Circulating leptin levels strongly and inversely correlated with ATBF (P=0.001), but this association did not remain after adjustment for body mass index. Adiponectin was not associated with blood flow.

Conclusion:

ATBF is closely linked to subcutaneous and visceral AT size. Further analyses are needed to determine possible mediators of this association, including mechanistic studies to assess a putative role for leptin as a significant modulator of blood flow.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Swedish Research Council, the Swedish Heart and Lung Foundation, the Heart Foundation of Northern Sweden, Northern Sweden County Council, Västerbotten County Council, and the Faculty of Medicine, Umeå University. We gratefully acknowledge nurses Inger Arnesjö and Veronica Sjöberg for their technical assistance in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden

    J Andersson, L-G Sjöström, S Söderberg & T Olsson

  2. Heart Center, Umeå University Hospital, Umeå, Sweden

    J Andersson & S Söderberg

  3. NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, UK

    F Karpe

  4. Department of Radiation Sciences, Diagnostic Radiology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden

    K Riklund

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  1. J Andersson
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Correspondence to J Andersson.

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Andersson, J., Karpe, F., Sjöström, LG. et al. Association of adipose tissue blood flow with fat depot sizes and adipokines in women. Int J Obes 36, 783–789 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2011.152

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