WEDNESDAY, Dec. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Visceral abdominal adipose tissue volume of 500 cm³ or above in both men and women doubles the risk of erosive esophagitis, according to a study in the December issue of Gastroenterology.
Su Youn Nam, M.D., Ph.D., of the National Cancer Center in Goyang, Korea, and colleagues investigated which measure of obesity is most closely linked to erosive esophagitis. The team screened 5,329 participants for erosive esophagitis using esophagogastroduodenoscopy and computed tomography. The researchers also measured the participants' body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, and estimated their visceral adipose tissue volume.
The researchers found that erosive esophagitis was present in 9.3 percent of the participants. Participants with visceral abdominal adipose tissue volumes between 500 to 999 cm³ had 1.97 greater odds of erosive esophagitis. The odds ratio (OR) increased along with the volume of abdominal adipose tissue: a volume of 1,000 to 1,499 cm³ increased the OR to 2.27 and a volume greater than 1,500 cm³ increased the OR to 2.94. In addition, the severity of erosive esophagitis also increased with the volume of visceral abdominal adipose tissue. For men, an elevated BMI and high waist circumference were also associated with erosive esophagitis; however, for women, they were not.
"Abdominal visceral adipose tissue volume is positively associated with erosive esophagitis and, therefore, is an excellent predictor for risk of the disease," the authors write.
Abstract
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