Anticipated correlation between lean body mass to visceral fat mass ratio and insulin resistance: NHANES 2011-2018

Ya Shao; Longti Li; Huiqin Zhong; Xiaojun Wang; Yu Hua; Xu Zhou

doi:10.3389/fendo.2023.1232896

Anticipated correlation between lean body mass to visceral fat mass ratio and insulin resistance: NHANES 2011-2018

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2023 Sep 13:14:1232896. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1232896. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Ya Shao¹, Longti Li², Huiqin Zhong³, Xiaojun Wang³, Yu Hua¹, Xu Zhou¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Health Management Center, TaiHe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China.
² Department of Nursing, TaiHe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China.
³ Department of Gastroenterology, TaiHe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China.

Abstract

Objective: The relationship between body composition and insulin resistance (IR) is controversial. This study aimed to thoroughly examine the correlation between adipose tissue, lean body mass, and IR as evaluated by the Homeostatic Model Assessment (HOMA-IR).

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we utilized data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted between 2011 and 2018. Our study included 4981 subjects, and we employed multiple linear regression, smoothed curve fitting, threshold, and saturation effect analysis to investigate the relationship between lean body mass, visceral fat mass, and IR. Also, we used the lean body mass to visceral fat ratio (Log LM/VFM) as a proxy variable to analyze its association with IR alone.

Results: The study discovered a negative link between lean body mass and IR, but the visceral fat mass was positively correlated after correcting for covariates. A negative correlation was observed when the alternative variable Log LM/VFM was analyzed separately for its association with IR. This association was present regardless of whether the exposure variables were analyzed as continuous or categorical. The data analysis revealed a nonlinear relationship between Log LM/VFM and IR, as evidenced by the generalized additive model. In addition, a threshold effect with a critical value of 1.80 and a saturation effect with a critical point of 2.5 were also observed. Further subgroup analysis for sex, age, BMI, active levels, hypertension, and diabetes showed considerable robustness between the relationship of Log LM/VFM and IR.

Conclusion: Maintaining a proper ratio of lean body mass and visceral fat is beneficial for decreasing IR.

Keywords: HOMA-IR; NHANES; insulin resistance; lean body mass; visceral fat mass.

Grants and funding

This study was funded by grants from the Hubei Provincial Health Commission (WJ2021M050), the Hubei Provincial Department of Education (18D070) and the Shiyan Science and Technology Bureau (22Y31).