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.