Fat mass, abdominal fat distribution, and C-reactive protein concentrations in overweight and obese men and women.

BACKGROUND: Previous work suggests a positive correlation between intraabdominal adipose tissue and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP). We sought to further explore the relationships between body fat mass/distribution and hsCRP levels in sedentary overweight and obese men and women.

METHODS: Body composition and abdominal fat areas were measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and abdominal computed tomography, respectively. Concentrations of hsCRP were measured in serum by nephelometry.

RESULTS: Values for hsCRP were 3.2 ± 0.3 mg/L and 4.8 ± 0.6 mg/L in men and women, respectively. Fat mass was nonsignificantly (P=0.09) higher in women (38.8 ± 1.0 kg) than men (36.2 ± 1.1 kg). Abdominal visceral adipose tissue (VAT) area was greater in men than women (104.5 ± 5.7 vs. 59.6 ± 4.3 cm(2), P<0.001) whereas women had greater abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) area compared to men (334.6 ± 11.6 vs. 285.0 ± 13.4 cm(2), P<0.01). Significant associations were present between hsCRP concentrations (natural log transformed) and total fat mass (r=0.502, P<0.01), VAT (r=0.241, P<0.05), and SAT (r=0.418, P<0.01) in men, whereas a significant association for women was found only for total fat mass (r=0.359, P<0.01). Multiple regression analyses showed that men and women had similar concentrations of hsCRP for a given age and fat mass. In both men and women, neither VAT nor SAT area independently predicted hsCRP when included individually or separately in models with age and fat mass.

CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that whole body fat mass, but not abdominal fat distribution, is associated with hsCRP concentrations in overweight and obese men and women.