Background: Visceral fat accumulation is associated with the development of metabolic diseases. Anthropometry is one of the methods used to quantify it.
Aim: to evaluate the relationship between visceral adipose tissue volume (VAT), measured with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and anthropometric indexes, such as body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC), in type 2 diabetic patients (DM2).
Patients and methods: Twenty four type 2 diabetic patients aged 55 to 78 years (15 females) and weighting 61.5 to 97 kg, were included. The patients underwent MRI examination on a Philips Intera® 1.5T MR scanner. The MRI protocol included a spectral excitation sequence centered at the fat peak. The field of view included from L4-L5 to the diaphragmatic border. VAT was measured using the software Image J®. Weight, height, BMI, WC and body fat percentage (BF%), derived from the measurement of four skinfolds with the equation of Durnin and Womersley, were also measured. The association between MRIVAT measurement and anthropometry was evaluated using the Pearson's correlation coefficient.
Results: Mean VAT was 2478 ± 758 ml, mean BMI29.5 ± 4.7 kg/m², and mean WC was 100 ± 9.7 cm. There was a poor correlation between VAT, BMI (r = 0.18) and WC (r = 0.56).
Conclusions: BMI and WC are inaccurate predictors of VAT volume in type 2 diabetic patients.