Visceral Fat Measured by the Electrical Impedance Analysis Method is a Reliable Predictor of Insulin Resistance

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate whether visceral fat measured by the electrical impedance analysis (EIA) method could serve as predictor of insulin resistance (IR). Methods: We evaluated a total of 1993 subjects from the Korean Rural Genomic Cohort Study in a population-based cross-sectional study. Insulin sensitivity was measured by fasting insulin, Homeostasis model for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and the quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI). Body composition was measured by EIA to determine total body fat and lean body mass. Results: Visceral fat was most significantly related to IR among various clinical parameters. The cutoff values for fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, and QUICKI to define IR were 7.25 μU/mL (sensitivity 69.3%, specificity 63.2%), 1.70 (sensitivity 68.5%, specificity 66.4%), and 0.352 (sensitivity 66.5%, specificity 68.6%) (P < 0.001), respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (95% CI) of visceral fat to predict IR was 0.730 (0.706~0.753). Conclusion: This study suggests that visceral fat measured by EIA method was most significantly related to and sufficient to predict IR.