Reduced cortical thickness associated with visceral fat and BMI
Structural brain imaging studies have shown that obesity is associated with widespread reductions in gray matter (GM) volume. Although the body mass index (BMI) is an easily accessible anthropometric measure, substantial health problems are more related to specific body fat compartments, like viscer...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2014-01-01
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| Series: | NeuroImage: Clinical |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213158214001491 |
| _version_ | 1811242258551275520 |
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| author | Ralf Veit Stephanie Kullmann Martin Heni Jürgen Machann Hans-Ulrich Häring Andreas Fritsche Hubert Preissl |
| author_facet | Ralf Veit Stephanie Kullmann Martin Heni Jürgen Machann Hans-Ulrich Häring Andreas Fritsche Hubert Preissl |
| author_sort | Ralf Veit |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Structural brain imaging studies have shown that obesity is associated with widespread reductions in gray matter (GM) volume. Although the body mass index (BMI) is an easily accessible anthropometric measure, substantial health problems are more related to specific body fat compartments, like visceral adipose tissue (VAT). We investigated cortical thickness measures in a group of 72 healthy subjects (BMI range 20–35 kg/m2, age range 19–50 years). Multiple regression analyses were performed using VAT and BMI as predictors and age, gender, total surface area and education as confounds. BMI and VAT were independently associated with reductions in cortical thickness in clusters comprising the left lateral occipital area, the left inferior temporal cortex, and the left precentral and inferior parietal area, while the right insula, the left fusiform gyrus and the right inferior temporal area showed a negative correlation with VAT only. In addition, we could show significant reductions in cortical thickness with increasing VAT adjusted for BMI in the left temporal cortex. We were able to detect widespread cortical thinning in a young to middle-aged population related to BMI and VAT; these findings show close resemblance to studies focusing on GM volume differences in diabetic patients. This may point to the influence of VAT related adverse effects, like low-grade inflammation, as a potentially harmful factor on brain integrity already in individuals at risk of developing diabetes, metabolic syndromes and arteriosclerosis. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T13:49:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2abf6256b38641e1b9d95a5da44c2bc7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2213-1582 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T13:49:05Z |
| publishDate | 2014-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | NeuroImage: Clinical |
| spelling | doaj.art-2abf6256b38641e1b9d95a5da44c2bc72022-12-22T03:30:35ZengElsevierNeuroImage: Clinical2213-15822014-01-016C30731110.1016/j.nicl.2014.09.013Reduced cortical thickness associated with visceral fat and BMIRalf Veit0Stephanie Kullmann1Martin Heni2Jürgen Machann3Hans-Ulrich Häring4Andreas Fritsche5Hubert Preissl6Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, fMEG Center, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, GermanyInstitute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, fMEG Center, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, GermanyInstitute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases of the Helmholtz Center Munich at the University of Tübingen, Tübingen, GermanyInstitute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases of the Helmholtz Center Munich at the University of Tübingen, Tübingen, GermanyInstitute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases of the Helmholtz Center Munich at the University of Tübingen, Tübingen, GermanyInstitute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases of the Helmholtz Center Munich at the University of Tübingen, Tübingen, GermanyInstitute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, fMEG Center, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, GermanyStructural brain imaging studies have shown that obesity is associated with widespread reductions in gray matter (GM) volume. Although the body mass index (BMI) is an easily accessible anthropometric measure, substantial health problems are more related to specific body fat compartments, like visceral adipose tissue (VAT). We investigated cortical thickness measures in a group of 72 healthy subjects (BMI range 20–35 kg/m2, age range 19–50 years). Multiple regression analyses were performed using VAT and BMI as predictors and age, gender, total surface area and education as confounds. BMI and VAT were independently associated with reductions in cortical thickness in clusters comprising the left lateral occipital area, the left inferior temporal cortex, and the left precentral and inferior parietal area, while the right insula, the left fusiform gyrus and the right inferior temporal area showed a negative correlation with VAT only. In addition, we could show significant reductions in cortical thickness with increasing VAT adjusted for BMI in the left temporal cortex. We were able to detect widespread cortical thinning in a young to middle-aged population related to BMI and VAT; these findings show close resemblance to studies focusing on GM volume differences in diabetic patients. This may point to the influence of VAT related adverse effects, like low-grade inflammation, as a potentially harmful factor on brain integrity already in individuals at risk of developing diabetes, metabolic syndromes and arteriosclerosis.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213158214001491ObesityCortical thicknessMR imagingVisceral adipose tissue |
| spellingShingle | Ralf Veit Stephanie Kullmann Martin Heni Jürgen Machann Hans-Ulrich Häring Andreas Fritsche Hubert Preissl Reduced cortical thickness associated with visceral fat and BMI NeuroImage: Clinical Obesity Cortical thickness MR imaging Visceral adipose tissue |
| title | Reduced cortical thickness associated with visceral fat and BMI |
| title_full | Reduced cortical thickness associated with visceral fat and BMI |
| title_fullStr | Reduced cortical thickness associated with visceral fat and BMI |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reduced cortical thickness associated with visceral fat and BMI |
| title_short | Reduced cortical thickness associated with visceral fat and BMI |
| title_sort | reduced cortical thickness associated with visceral fat and bmi |
| topic | Obesity Cortical thickness MR imaging Visceral adipose tissue |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213158214001491 |
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