The Concept of CMR

The dyslipidemic profile of intra-abdominal obesity and the metabolic syndrome

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Figure 8: Triglyceride and HDL cholesterol levels in non-obese women and in obese women with low or high levels of intra-abdominal adipose tissue

Figure 8: Triglyceride and HDL cholesterol levels in non-obese women and in obese women with low or high levels of intra-abdominal adipose tissue

Although overweight and obesity are linked to abnormalities in lipoprotein metabolism, it is now well established that it is excess intra-abdominal fat that has the strongest ties to these abnormalities (14-20). It has been known for several decades that obesity is frequently associated with a dyslipidemic state that includes increased triglyceride concentrations and reduced HDL cholesterol levels. However, because obesity is remarkably heterogeneous, not every obese patient is dyslipidemic while some moderately overweight individuals clearly are. Studies conducted over the last two decades have shown that in both men and women, obese patients matched for total adiposity but with either low or large amounts of intra-abdominal adipose tissue were markedly different in their fasting lipoprotein-lipid profile (21, 22). For instance, obese patients with low levels of intra-abdominal adipose tissue had a normal lipoprotein-lipid profile compared to lean controls, while equally obese patients with high levels of intra-abdominal fat had the high triglyceride, high apolipoprotein B, low HDL cholesterol, and small, dense LDL and HDL atherogenic dyslipidemic state (Figure 8). This dyslipidemic state of intra-abdominal obesity is a key feature of insulin resistance and the clustering abnormalities of the metabolic syndrome.

Reference

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