Background: Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) could affect Crohn's disease (CD); however, no prospective clinical studies have explored the issue.
Methods: We measured VAT with magnetic resonance imaging and total fat mass (FM) with air-displacement plethysmography in 31 women with CD in remission and 19 matched control women. We assessed the VAT/FM ratio as index of VAT accumulation, measured cytokines, and monitored clinical features (duration of remission, disease behavior, and outcome) in patients with CD retrospectively and prospectively. We also tested whether ultrasound could provide a surrogate marker of VAT in patients with CD.
Results: Patients with CD had higher percentage of FM (37 ± 10% versus 31 ± 10%, P = 0.03), VAT (1885 ± 1403 mL versus 941 ± 988 mL, P = 0.02), and VAT/FM ratio (65 ± 24 mL/kg versus 37 ± 25 mL/kg, P = 0.004) than control women. In patients with CD, VAT/FM ratio was associated with leptin (P = 0.009) and interleukin 6 (P = 0.032) concentrations, and higher in short-term than in long-term remission (72.6 ± 27.1 mL/kg versus 54.8 ± 16.1 mL/kg, P = 0.079). Patients with CD with stricturing/fistulizing disease had a higher VAT/FM ratio than patients with nonstricturing/nonfistulizing behavior (79 ± 0.15 mL/kg versus 63 ± 28 mL/kg, P = 0.067). A higher baseline VAT/FM ratio was associated with an increased disease activity at follow-up (P = 0.029). The ultrasound-determined thickness between the abdominal wall and the aorta was strongly associated with VAT as measured by magnetic resonance imaging (P < 0.001).
Conclusions: VAT accumulation could be a prospective risk factor for increased disease activity in CD.