Associations Among Visceral Fat, All-CauseMortality, and Obesity-RelatedMortality in Japanese Americans

OBJECTIVEdThe study objective was to examine the associations among visceral fat (VF), all-cause mortality, and obesity-related mortality. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSdA total of 733 Japanese Americans were fol-lowed for 16.9 years. Hazard ratios (HRs) per interquartile range increase in VF were calculated using time-dependent Cox proportional hazard models censored at age 82 years, with age as the time axis adjusted for sex and smoking. RESULTSdHigher VF was associated with all-cause mortality (HR 1.39 [95 % CI 1.11–1.75] 107 deaths) and obesity-related mortality (1.39 [1.04–1.85], 68 deaths from cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or obesity-related cancer). After further adjustment for waist circumference, VF remained significantly associated with all-cause mortality (1.41 [1.04–1.92]) but not with obesity-related mortality. The associations between mortality and VF were not independent of BMI. CONCLUSIONSdVF was associated with all-cause mortality and obesity-related mortality in Japanese Americans. VF did not significantly improve mortality risk assessment beyond that of BMI. Diabetes Care 35:296–298, 2012 To date, only one study of 291 men,followed for 2.2 years, has examinedthe association between visceral fat (VF) and mortality (1). The purpose of this study was to assess the associations between VF and other measures of obe-sity, mortality, and cause of death in a co