Association of serum leptin and LDL-cholesterol concentration with visceral fat thickness estimated by using ultrasonography among healthy adult population

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The subjects were women who underwent a health screening program conducted in 1998 in a rural community of Nagano prefecture. A total of 1,429 persons met the inclusion criteria of age 20-69 and being free of previous history of liver disease, kidney disease, diabetes mellitus, thyroid disease, gout, and abdominal operation. A question concerning daily physical activity was asked of every individual. Anthropometric measurements included body bass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and upper-arm and subscapular skin-fold thickness. Ultrasonographic estimation of the fat layer thickness at mid-arm and subscapular point, and abdominal wall subcutaneous and preperitoneal fat pad thickness was carried out, according to the method described by Suzuki et al. The number of subjects from whom all the data were available was 1,036. Out of them, 202 women, who were at age 40-49 and agreed to offer ablood sample in 1996, were studied for correlation of anthropometric and ultrasonic measurements with circulating leptin level.The results indicated that a high level of daily physical activity was associated with the lower skin-folds, and subcutaneous and visceral fat pad thickness, even after the effect of BMI was adjusted. LDL-cholesterol showed a significant correlation with abdominal fat pad thickness, but failed to correlate with upper-arm or subscapular fat measurements. In the analysis of covariance to adjust for BMI, age, and daily physical activity, serum leptin was found to inversely correlate with the fat layer thickness, with only significant relationship with subscapular skin-fold.