Effects of abdominal visceral fat compared with those of subcutaneous fat on the association between PM(10) and hypertension in Korean men: A cross-sectional study

We assessed whether visceral adipose tissue (VAT) compared with subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) has modifying effects on the cross-sectional association between ambient air pollution and hypertension in Korean men. This study included 1,417 adult men who visited a health checkup center. Abdominal fat depots were measured by computed tomography, and we used the annual average concentrations of ambient air pollutants such as particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of ≤10 μm (PM(10)), nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide (CO). The annual mean concentrations of PM(10) (odds ratio [OR] = 1.30; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.12–1.52) and CO (OR = 1.20; 95% CI = 1.03–1.39) showed a positive association with hypertension. In particular, modifying effects on hypertension were found between PM(10) and VAT-related traits such as VAT and visceral-to-subcutaneous fat ratio (VSR). The association between PM(10) and hypertension was much stronger in the high-VAT (OR = 1.74; 95% CI = 1.12–2.71) and high-VSR groups (OR = 1.53; 95% CI = 1.23–1.91). However, the strength of association across levels of SAT was not observed (P(int) = 0.4615). In conclusion, we found that association between PM(10) exposure and hypertension is different by abdominal fat distribution.