Association of adipose tissue blood flow with fat depot sizes and adipokines in women

Objective: To explore possible associations between adipose tissue (AT) blood flow (ATBF), AT depot sizes and adipocyte-derived hormones (adipokines) in women. Subjects: In all, 43 healthy women were divided into four groups: normal-weight (n = 11) and obese (n = 11) pre-menopausal women and normal-weight (n = 10) and obese (n = 11) post-menopausal women. Methods: Fasting levels of adipokines were obtained, and a single-slice computed tomography scan at the level of L4-L5 was used to estimate fat depot sizes. ATBF was assessed by xenon washout while in a fasting state and after oral glucose load. We also measured glucose, insulin and non-esterified fatty acids. Results: Total, subcutaneous and visceral AT areas strongly correlated with ATBF (all P < 0.001). Circulating leptin levels strongly and inversely correlated with ATBF (P = 0.001), but this association did not remain after adjustment for body mass index. Adiponectin was not associated with blood flow. Conclusion: ATBF is closely linked to subcutaneous and visceral AT size. Further analyses are needed to determine possible mediators of this association, including mechanistic studies to assess a putative role for leptin as a significant modulator of blood flow. International Journal of Obesity (2012) 36, 783-789; doi:10.1038/ijo.2011.152; published online 26 July 2011