TY - JOUR AB - BACKGROUND: Obesity is associated with alterations in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Effects of glucocorticoids on adipose tissues appear to depend on the specific adipose depot, in which they take place. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of MRI-based adrenal gland volume as an imaging marker in association with different adipose tissue compartments. METHODS: The study cohort derives from the population-based research platform KORA (Cooperative Health Research in the Augsburg Region, Germany) MRI sub-study, a cross-sectional sub-study investigating the interactions between subclinical metabolic changes and cardiovascular disease in a study sample of 400 participants. Originally, eligible subjects underwent a whole-body MRI. MRI-based segmentations were performed manually and semi-automatically for adrenal gland volume, visceral adipose tissue (VAT), subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), epi- and pericardial fat and renal sinus fat. Hepatic and pancreatic lipid content were measured as pancreatic proton density fraction (PDFF) and MR-spectroscopic hepatic fat fraction (HFF). Multivariable linear regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: A number of 307 participants (56.2 ± 9.1 years, 60.3% male, 14.3% with type 2 diabetes (T2DM), 30.6% with obesity, 34.2% with hypertension) were included. In multivariable analyses, strong positive associations between adrenal gland volume and VAT, total adipose tissue (TAT) as well as HFF persisted after extensive step-wise adjustment for possible metabolic confounders (VAT: beta = 0.31, 95%-CI [0.71, 0.81], p < 0.001; TAT: beta = 0.14, 95%-CI [0.06, 0.23], p < 0.001; HFF: beta = 1.17, 95%-CI [1.04, 1.31], p = 0.009). In contrast, associations between adrenal gland volume and SAT were attenuated in multivariate analysis after adjusting for BMI. Associations between pancreatic PDFF, epi- and pericardial fat and renal sinus fat were mediated to a great extent by VAT (pancreatic PDFF: 72%, epicardial adipose tissue: 100%, pericardial adipose tissue: 100%, renal sinus fat: 81.5%). CONCLUSION: Our results found MRI-based adrenal gland volume as a possible imaging biomarker of unfavorable adipose tissue distribution, irrespective of metabolic risk factors. Thus, adrenal gland volume may serve as a potential MRI-based biomarker of metabolic changes and contributes to an individual characterization of metabolic states and individual risk stratification. Future studies should elucidate in a longitudinal study design, if and how HPA axis activation may trigger unfavorable adipose tissue distribution and whether and to which extent this is involved in the pathogenesis of manifest metabolic syndrome. AU - Askani, E.* AU - Rospleszcz, S. AU - Lorbeer, R.* AU - Wintergerst, C.* AU - Müller-Peltzer, K.* AU - Kiefer, L.S.* AU - Kellner, E.* AU - Reisert, M.* AU - Rathmann, W.* AU - Peters, A. AU - Schlett, C.L.* AU - Bamberg, F.* AU - Storz, C.* C1 - 71083 C2 - 55952 CY - Campus, 4 Crinan St, London N1 9xw, England TI - Associations between adrenal gland volume and adipose tissue compartments - a whole body MRI study. JO - Nutr. Metab. VL - 21 IS - 1 PB - Bmc PY - 2024 SN - 1743-7075 ER - TY - JOUR AB - BACKGROUND: Despite the worldwide burden of diverticular disease, the connections between diverticular disease and dietary habits remain poorly understood, particularly in an asymptomatic representative sample. We investigated the association between asymptomatic diverticular disease as assessed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and dietary habits in a Western study cohort. METHODS: Participants from a cross-sectional sample of a population-based cohort study underwent whole-body 3T-MRI including an isotropic VIBE-Dixon sequence. The presence and extent of diverticular disease was assessed in blinded fashion. Habitual dietary intake was recorded using a blended approach, applying 24-h food lists and a food-frequency questionnaire. Traditional cardiometabolic risk factors were obtained by interviews and medical examination. Univariate and multivariate associations were calculated. RESULTS: A total of 308 subjects were included in this analysis (56% male, 56.4 ± 9.1 years). 39.9% had any form of diverticular disease and 15.3% had advanced asymptomatic diverticular disease. After adjustment for age, sex and total energy intake a higher intake of fiber and vegetables was associated with a lower odds for asymptomatic diverticular disease (fiber: OR 0.68 95% CI [0.48, 0.95]; vegetables: OR 0.72 95% CI [0.53, 0.97]) and an increased intake of meat was associated with an approximately two-fold higher odds for advanced asymptomatic diverticular disease (OR 1.84 95% CI [1.13, 2.99]). However, after additional adjustment for body-mass-index (BMI), alcohol consumption, smoking behavior and physical activity only a high fiber and vegetables intake remained significantly associated with lower odds of asymptomatic diverticular disease. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that a high-fiber diet and increased intake of vegetables is associated with lower odds of having asymptomatic diverticular disease, independent of age, sex, total energy intake, BMI and other life-style factors. AU - Askani, E.* AU - Rospleszcz, S. AU - Rothenbacher, T.* AU - Wawro, N. AU - Messmann, H.* AU - De Cecco, C.N.* AU - von Krüchten, R.* AU - Kulka, C.* AU - Kiefer, L.S.* AU - Rathmann, W.* AU - Peters, A. AU - Schlett, C.L.* AU - Bamberg, F.* AU - Linseisen, J. AU - Storz, C.* C1 - 62564 C2 - 50946 CY - Campus, 4 Crinan St, London N1 9xw, England TI - Dietary habits and the presence and degree of asymptomatic diverticular disease by magnetic resonance imaging in a Western population: A population-based cohort study. JO - Nutr. Metab. VL - 18 IS - 1 PB - Bmc PY - 2021 SN - 1743-7075 ER - TY - JOUR AB - BackgroundVisceral adipose tissue (VAT) area is a strong predictor of obesity-related cardiometabolic alterations, but its measurement is costly, time consuming and, in some cases, involves radiation exposure. Glutamate, a by-product of branched-chain-amino-acid (BCAA) catabolism, has been shown to be increased in visceral obese individuals. In this follow-up data analysis, we aimed to investigate the ability of plasma glutamate to identify individuals with visceral obesity and concomitant metabolic alterations.MethodsMeasurements of adiposity, targeted blood metabolomics and cardiometabolic risk factors were performed in 59 healthy middle-aged women. Visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue areas were measured by computed tomography (CT) whereas body fat and lean mass were assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA).ResultsThe univariate Pearson correlation coefficient between glutamate and VAT area was r=0.46 (p<0.001) and it was r=0.36 (p=0.006) when adjusted for total body fat mass. Glutamate allowed to identify individuals with VAT areas 100cm(2) (ROC_AUC: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.66-0.91) and VAT 130cm(2) (ROC_AUC: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.56-0.87). The optimal glutamate concentration threshold determined from the ROC curve (glutamate 34.6mol/L) had a greater sensitivity than the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and the hypertriglyceridemic waist (HTW) phenotype to identify individuals with VAT 100cm(2) (83% for glutamate vs 52% for the MetS and 35% for the HTW). Variance analysis showed that women with a high circulating glutamate level (34.6mol/L) had an altered metabolic profile, particularly regarding total triglyceride levels and the amount of triglycerides and cholesterol in very-low-density lipoproteins (all p<0.01).ConclusionCirculating glutamate is strongly associated with VAT area and may represent a potential screening tool for visceral obesity and alterations of the metabolic profile. AU - Maltais-Payette, I.* AU - Boulet, M.-M.* AU - Prehn, C. AU - Adamski, J. AU - Tchernof, A.* C1 - 54714 C2 - 45766 CY - Campus, 4 Crinan St, London N1 9xw, England TI - Circulating glutamate concentration as a biomarker of visceral obesity and associated metabolic alterations. JO - Nutr. Metab. VL - 15 IS - 1 PB - Bmc PY - 2018 SN - 1743-7075 ER -