The relationship between distribution of body fat mass and carotid artery intima-media thickness in Korean older adults

[Purpose] The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between the amount and distribution of body fat and the carotid intima-media thickness to explore whether coronary artery disease risk may be mediated through effects on the amount of fat mass in older adults. [Subjects and Methods] A total of 200 elderly females was participated. The percentage of body fat mass was measured by the bioelectrical impedance analysis method, and the carotid intima-media thickness was measured by B-mode ultrasound. Analysis of covariance was performed to assess independent associations between the four categories of percentage of body fat mass and the carotid intima-media thickness after multivariate adjustment. Logistic regression analyses were utilized to calculate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for examining independent associations between percentage of body fat mass and the estimated risk of coronary artery disease. [Results] Analysis of covariance showed that the carotid intima-media thickness was significantly thick in both obesity and overweight groups. When multivariate-adjusted OR for the estimated risk of coronary artery disease, the odds ratios for the obesity and overweight groups were 3.0 (95% confidence interval, 1.1 to 8.7) and 2.5 (95% confidence interval, 1.0 to 6.1), respectively. [Conclusion] This study demonstrates that elderly females with a high body fat mass are more likely to have the estimated risk of CAD than who fit body fat mass in elderly female.