Higher Visceral to Subcutaneous Fat Ratio is associated with Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth

• Published in: Nutrition, metabolism, and cardiovascular diseases Vol. 26; no. 9; pp. 773 - 777
• Main Authors: Fialho, Andre, MD, Fialho, Andrea, MD, Thota, Prashanthi, MD, McCullough, Arthur, MD, Shen, Bo, MD
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01-09-2016
• Subjects: Adiposity; Aged; Bacteria - growth & development; Cardiovascular; Chi-Square Distribution; Female; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Humans; Intestine, Small - microbiology; Intra-Abdominal Fat - diagnostic imaging; Intra-Abdominal Fat - physiopathology; Logistic Models; Male; Metabolic Syndrome - microbiology; Metabolic Syndrome - physiopathology; Middle Aged; Multivariate Analysis; Obesity; Odds Ratio; Retrospective Studies; Risk Factors; Small intestine bacterial overgrowth; Subcutaneous Fat - diagnostic imaging; Subcutaneous Fat - physiopathology; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Visceral fat; Visceral Fat; CRP; MCP-1; SIBO; IL‐1Ra; DM; diabetes mellitus; interquartile range; odds ratio; SFA; VFA; SD; visceral fat area; hepatocyte growth factor; Toll-like receptors; visceral to subcutaneous fat ratio; Tumor necrosis factor- α; INTERLUKIN-6; BMI; Obesity; Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1; subcutaneous fat area; OR; interleukin‐1 receptor antagonist; TNF‐α; VFA/SFA; body mass index; CI; HGF; VEGF; IQR; IL-8; C‐reactive protein; IL-6; CT; vascular endothelial growth factor; confidence interval; Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth; interlukin-8; TLRs; computer tomography; standard deviation; Visceral fat; IL-1Ra; Small intestine bacterial overgrowth; TNF-α
• ISSN: 0939-4753; 1590-3729
• DOI: 10.1016/j.numecd.2016.04.007

Abstract Objective There is a lack of studies evaluating the association between small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and abdominal fat. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether visceral fat area (VFA), subcutaneous fat area (SFA) or visceral to subcutaneous fat ratio (VFA/SFA ratio) were associated with SIBO. Methods In this case-control study, 152 eligible patients submitted to glucose hydrogen/methane breath test and had computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen performed were included. Clinical and demographic information was obtained. VFA and SFA were measured using Image J software at lumbar 3 level on CT cross-sectional image. Results Of the 152 patients included in this study, 68 patients (44.7%) tested positive for SIBO. In the univariate analysis, the presence of SIBO was associated with older age (65.2±1.5 vs. 59.3±1.5, p=0.007); diabetes mellitus (33.8% vs. 17.9%; p=0.019); hypertension (63.2% vs. 39.3%; p=0.003); metabolic syndrome (85.3% vs. 64.3%; p=0.003); and higher VFA/SFA ratio (1.0±0.1 vs. 0.7±0.1; p<0.001). In multivariate analysis, metabolic syndrome (odds ratio [OR]:2.5; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1-5.7; p=0.035) and higher VFA/SFA ratio (OR:3.3; 95%CI: 1.6-7.2; p=0.002) remained independently associated with SIBO. Conclusion The presence of SIBO was found to be associated with high VFA/SFA ratio measured from cross-sectional CT image.