Key result
Over approximately two years, participants exhibited significant increases in visceral adipose tissue (4.1%) and intermuscular fat (3.9%), alongside decreases in skeletal muscle volume and grip strength, despite no change in BMI.
Why the study?
Longitudinal studies provide unique insights into the impact of environmental factors and lifespan issues on health and disease, motivating the investigation of body composition changes.
Cohort (n=3,088)
Yes
Precision MRI phenotyping detects significant adverse changes in body composition, such as increased visceral and intermuscular fat and decreased skeletal muscle, over just two years despite stable BMI.
MRI phenotyping detects subtle muscle loss missed by BMI; leaves open links to outcomes or interventions in aging cohorts.
Longitudinal studies provide unique insights into the impact of environmental factors and lifespan issues on health and disease. Here we investigate changes in body composition in 3,088 free-living participants, part of the UK Biobank in-depth imaging study. All participants underwent neck-to-knee MRI scans at the first imaging visit and after approximately two years (second imaging visit). Image-derived phenotypes for each participant were extracted using a fully-automated image processing pipeline, including volumes of several tissues and organs: liver, pancreas, spleen, kidneys, total skeletal muscle, iliopsoas muscle, visceral adipose tissue (VAT), abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (ASAT), as well as fat and iron content in liver, pancreas and spleen. Overall, no significant changes were observed in BMI, body weight, or waist circumference over the scanning interval, despite some large individual changes. A significant decrease in grip strength was observed, coupled to small, but statistically significant, decrease in all skeletal muscle measurements. Significant increases in VAT and intermuscular fat in the thighs were also detected in the absence of changes in BMI, waist circumference and ectopic-fat deposition. Adjusting for disease status at the first imaging visit did not have an additional impact on the changes observed. In summary, we show that even after a relatively short period of time significant changes in body composition can take place, probably reflecting the obesogenic environment currently inhabited by most of the general population in the United Kingdom.
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Whitcher et al. (2021) conducted a cohort in General population (free-living) (n=3,088). Time (longitudinal follow-up in an obesogenic environment) vs. Baseline measurements was evaluated on Longitudinal changes in organ volume and composition (image-derived phenotypes). Over approximately two years, participants exhibited significant increases in visceral adipose tissue (4.1%) and intermuscular fat (3.9%), alongside decreases in skeletal muscle volume and grip strength, despite no change in BMI.
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