Searchable abstracts of presentations at key conferences in endocrinology
Endocrine Abstracts (2014) 35 P766 | DOI: 10.1530/endoabs.35.P766

1Diabetology and Metabolic Disease Unit, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, San Donato Milanese, Italy; 2Unit of Radiology, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, San Donato Milanese, Italy; 3Postgraduation School in Radiodiagnostics, University of Milan, Milan, Italy; 4Heart Failure Unit, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, San Donato Milanese, Italy; 5Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy; 6Operative Unit of Laboratory Medicine-1, Chair of Clinical Pathology, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, San Donato Milanese, Italy.


Introduction: Bone marrow fat is considered a risk factor for osteoporosis and fragility fracture. It is not clear if bone marrow adiposity is increased in obesity and how it relates to other compartments of adipose tissue, in particular visceral adipose tissue (VAT), subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), and epicardial adipose tissue (EAT).

Aim: To evaluate bone marrow adiposity in obese as compared with normal weight women.

Design: Twenty healthy premenopausal women (age 32±8 years, BMI 28±6 kg/m2, mean±s.d.) underwent body composition evaluation with body impedance assessment, marrow adipose tissue (MAT), and marrow fat unsaturation measurement (L4 level) with proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS), VAT, SAT (L4 level), and EAT measurement with magnetic resonance imaging, lumbar spine and femoral bone mineral density (BMD) measurement with DXA.

Results: Overweight/obese women (n=10, BMI 32±5 kg/m2) had higher MAT content than normal weight women (n=10, BMI 22±1 kg/m2) (40±9 vs 27±17%, P<0.05). MAT correlated with EAT (r=0.473, P<0.05), age (r=0.391, P<0.05), BMI (r=0.410, P<0.05), fat mass (r=0.440, P<0.05), duration of obesity (r=0.400, P=0.05), and marrow fat unsaturation (r=−0.652, P<0.001). In a multiple stepwise regression analysis including MAT as dependent variable and age, BMI, fat mass, duration of obesity, EAT as independent variables, and EAT was the most significant determinant of MAT (β=0.023±0.009, P<0.05). Based on medians, women with higher EAT (n=8) had higher MAT then women with lower EAT (n=12) (41±0.1 vs 28±0.2%, P<0.05). Marrow fat unsaturation positively correlated with lumbar spine BMD (r=0.480, P<0.05).

Conclusion: Bone marrow adiposity is increased and richer in saturated fatty acids in obese premenopausal women and it is related to fat mass and epicardial fat. This seems to confirm an increased risk for osteoporosis in obesity, possibly related to visceral adipose tissue compartments.

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