Sex-specific Association Between Adipose Tissue Inflammation and Vascular and Metabolic Complications of Obesity
Authors' conclusion
Inflammation in abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue is more related to the metabolic than the atherosclerotic complications of obesity, and there are profound sex-specific differences in the association between BMI, adipocyte size, AT inflammation, and systemic inflammation, which are much stronger in men than women.
Study context
- Population
- Adults with body mass index (BMI) ≥ 27 kg/m², university hospital in the Netherlands
- Participants
- 302 adults
- Exposure
- Associations of adipose tissue (AT) inflammation parameters with metabolic and atherosclerotic complications, men vs women
- Outcome
- Associations of AT inflammation parameters (adipocyte size, macrophage content, crown-like structures, gene expression) with systemic inflammation biomarkers, leukocyte number and function, metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance and carotid atherosclerotic plaques (US)
Methodological detailssingle-centre, sex-specific analysis
- Single-centre
- Sex-specific analysis
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
AT inflammation and obesity complications
- Adipocyte size associated with metabolic syndrome
- AT macrophage content associated with insulin resistance
- No AT parameter associated with carotid atherosclerosis
- AT IL-37 mRNA expression associated with lower intima-media thickness
- Associations between BMI and adipocyte size, and between adipocyte size and metabolic syndrome, in men only
- In men only: association between adipocyte size, AT leptin and MCP-1 expression and AT macrophage numbers, and between crown-like structure number and circulating inflammatory proteins incl. high specificity C-reactive protein and IL-6
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Original publication
Sex-specific Association Between Adipose Tissue Inflammation and Vascular and Metabolic Complications of Obesity. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. Published 4 April 2023. doi:10.
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