Higher Ratio of Abdominal Subcutaneous to Visceral Adipose Tissue Related with Preservation of Islet β-Cell Function in Healthy Individuals

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between abdominal adipose tissue distribution, β-cell function, and insulin sensitivity (IS) in a Chinese population. METHODS: One hundred and eighty-eight healthy subjects (healthy group), 239 with normal glucose, and 1~4 abnormal metabolic traits (metabolic dysfunction group, MD group) and 125 with hyperglycemia (hyperglycemia group) were studied. HOMA-IR, HOMA-B, Matsuda index, early- (I(0–30)/G(0–30)) and late-phase (I(30–120)/G(30–120)) insulin responses and the corresponding disposition indexes (DI) were calculated. The area of abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (ASAT) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) was measured and the ratio of ASAT to VAT (SVR) was calculated. RESULTS: SVR was correlated positively with Matsuda index in healthy, MD, and hyperglycemia groups, and inversely with HOMA-IR. SVR positively related with both early- and late-phase DI in the healthy group only. In the healthy group, the hyperbolas of I(0–30)/G(0–30) and I(30–120)/G(30–120) versus Matsuda index in the highest quarter of SVR were significantly right shifted compared to those in the lowest (both P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In healthy adults, higher SVR was a protective factor for β-cell function and IS, while in those with glucometabolic abnormality, higher SVR contributed to a relative better IS, indicating SVR is possible to be an early predicator of type 2 diabetes development.