Korean J Obes.  2011 Jun;20(2):75-83.

Visceral Fat Measured by the Electrical Impedance Analysis Method is a Reliable Predictor of Insulin Resistance

• Kim MK
• Lee IS
• Jang HW
• Joung KH
• Kim KS
• Kim HJ
• Lee TY
• Kim YK
• Ku BJ

Abstract

BACKGROUND
The aim of this study was to investigate whether visceral fat measured by the electrical impedance analysis (EIA) method could serve as predictor of insulin resistance (IR).
METHODS
We evaluated a total of 1993 subjects from the Korean Rural Genomic Cohort Study in a population-based cross-sectional study. Insulin sensitivity was measured by fasting insulin, Homeostasis model for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and the quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI). Body composition was measured by EIA to determine total body fat and lean body mass.
RESULTS
Visceral fat was most significantly related to IR among various clinical parameters. The cutoff values for fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, and QUICKI to define IR were 7.25 microU/mL (sensitivity 69.3%, specificity 63.2%), 1.70 (sensitivity 68.5%, specificity 66.4%), and 0.352 (sensitivity 66.5%, specificity 68.6%) (P < 0.001), respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (95% CI) of visceral fat to predict IR was 0.730 (0.706~0.753).
CONCLUSION
This study suggests that visceral fat measured by EIA method was most significantly related to and sufficient to predict IR.

Keyword

Intra-abdominal fat; Insulin resistance; Electrical impedance analysis

MeSH Terms

Adipose Tissue
Body Composition
Cohort Studies
Cross-Sectional Studies
Electric Impedance
Fasting
Homeostasis
Insulin
Insulin Resistance
Intra-Abdominal Fat
ROC Curve
Sensitivity and Specificity
Insulin