Five-Year Change in Visceral Adipose Tissue Quantity in a Minority Cohort: The Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study (IRAS) Family Study

OBJECTIVE To describe the 5-year change in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) areas. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Absolute change in VAT and SAT measured by abdominal computed tomography scans has been obtained at a 5-year interval from African Americans (n = 389) and Hispanic Americans (n = 844), aged 20-69 years, in 10-year age-groups. RESULTS Mean 5-year increases in VAT areas in women were 18, 7, 4, 0.4, and -3 cm(2) for African Americans and 13, 7, 3, 1, and -15 cm(2) for Hispanics, across the 5 age decades (trend not significant). Mean 5-year increases in SAT areas in women were 88, 46, 19, 17, and 14 cm(2) for African Americans and 53, 20, 17, 12, and 1 cm(2) for Hispanics, across the 5 age decades (P < 0.05 for both). Similar trends have been observed in men. CONCLUSIONS Accumulation of abdominal fat is greatest in young adulthood. These data may be useful in identifying subgroups at risk of type 2 diabetes.