Visceral adipose tissue buildup tied to lower muscle density

Age-related accumulation of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) in both men and women may result in lower paraspinal muscle density, suggests a study.

“VAT may represent a modifiable risk factor for poor musculoskeletal outcomes with ageing,” the researchers said.

Overall, 1,145 participants from the Framingham Study third-generation cohort who had both quantitative computed tomography scans of the spine at baseline and at 6-year follow-up were included in this study. These individuals had measurements of both their muscle density and VAT.

The researchers used multiple regression to determine the relationship of muscle density at follow-up with changes in VAT (follow-up minus baseline divided by 100), with adjustments for VAT at baseline, age, sex, height, menopausal status, presence of diabetes, and physical activity. They also conducted separate analyses in men and women.

After adjusting for covariates, participants with the highest accumulation of VAT over 6 years exhibited significantly lower paraspinal density at follow-up, with estimates of 0.302 (95 percent confidence interval [CI], ‒0.380 to ‒0.224) and 0.476 (95 percent CI, ‒0.598 to ‒0.354) lower muscle density per 100-cm³ increase in VAT (p<0.001 for both) in men and women, respectively.

“VAT has been recognized to be a metabolically active fat depot that may have paracrine effects on surrounding tissues, including muscle,” the researchers said. “Since many adults accumulate VAT as they age, the effect of changes in VAT on muscle is of interest.”