Abstract #3427

Sex and ethnic differences in abdominal fat partitioning and adipose tissue hydration in 4.5-year-old Asian children

Suresh Anand Sadananthan¹, Mya Thway Tint², Navin Michael¹, Kuan Jin Lee³, Lynette Pei-Chi Shek⁴, Yap Kok Peng Fabian^5,6, Keith M Godfrey⁷, Melvin Khee-Shing Leow^8,9, Yung Seng Lee^1,4, Michael S Kramer^2,10,11, Peter D Gluckman^1,12, Yap Seng Chong^1,2, Christiani Jeyakumar Henry⁸, Marielle Valerie Fortier¹³, and S. Sendhil Velan³

¹Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, A*STAR, Singapore, ²Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, ³Singapore BioImaging Consortium, A*STAR, Singapore, ⁴Department of Paediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, ⁵Department of Paediatric Endocrinology, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Singapore, ⁶Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, ⁷MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit & NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University of Southampton & University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, United Kingdom, ⁸Clinical Nutrition Research Centre, Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, A*STAR, Singapore, ⁹Department of Endocrinology, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore, ¹⁰Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Canada, ¹¹Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Canada, ¹²Liggins Institute, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand, ¹³Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Singapore

In this study, we used MR-based estimation of abdominal fat distribution and the degree of adipocyte hypertrophy to study sex and ethnic differences in 4.5-year-old Asian children. Our results show sexual dimorphism in abdominal fat distribution in preschool children. Girls had higher subcutaneous fat depot volumes and lower adipose tissue hydration than boys. We also found that at 4.5 years, both deep and superficial subcutaneous fat volumes in Indian children were higher, while the ethnic difference in internal fat was non-significant. These differences may help explain why Indians are more susceptible to metabolic and cardiovascular diseases.

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