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Britton, Kathryn

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Britton

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Kathryn

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Britton, Kathryn
Author's Publications: search.filters.isAuthorOfPublication.24abba0c-dcb1-440d-8094-db274e432cac

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    Thoracic Periaortic and Visceral Adipose Tissue and Their Cross-sectional Associations with Measures of Vascular Function
    (2013) Britton, Kathryn; Wang, Na; Palmisano, Joseph; Corsini, Erin; Schlett, Christopher L.; Hoffmann, Udo; Larson, Martin G.; Vasan, Ramachandran S.; Vita, Joseph A.; Mitchell, Gary F.; Benjamin, Emelia J.; Hamburg, Naomi M.; Fox, Caroline
    Objective: Perivascular fat may have a local adverse effect on the vasculature. We evaluated whether thoracic periaortic adipose tissue (TAT), a type of perivascular fat, and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) are associated with vascular function. Design and Methods TAT and VAT were quantified in Framingham Heart Study participants using multidetector computed tomography; vascular function was assessed using brachial artery vasodilator function, peripheral arterial tone and arterial tonometry (n= 2735, 48% women, mean age 50 years, mean BMI 27.7 kg/m2). Using multiple linear regression, we examined relations between TAT, VAT, and vascular measures while adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors. Results: Mean TAT and VAT volumes were 13.2 and 1763 cm3. TAT and VAT were associated with multiple vascular function measures after multivariable adjustment. After BMI adjustment, TAT and VAT remained negatively associated with peripheral arterial tone and inverse carotid femoral pulse wave velocity (p<0.02); TAT was negatively associated with hyperemic mean flow velocity (p=0.03). Associations of TAT with vascular function were attenuated after VAT adjustment (all p>0.06). Conclusion: Thoracic periaortic and visceral fat are associated with microvascular function and large artery stiffness after BMI adjustment. These findings support the growing recognition of associations between ectopic fat and vascular function.
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    Adipose Tissue Depots and Their Cross‐Sectional Associations With Circulating Biomarkers of Metabolic Regulation
    (John Wiley and Sons Inc., 2016) Lee, Jane J.; Britton, Kathryn; Pedley, Alison; Massaro, Joseph M.; Speliotes, Elizabeth K.; Murabito, Joanne M.; Hoffmann, Udo; Ingram, Cheryl; Keaney, John F.; Vasan, Ramachandran S.; Fox, Caroline S.
    Background: Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and fatty liver differ in their associations with cardiovascular risk compared with subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT). Several biomarkers have been linked to metabolic derangements and may contribute to the pathogenicity of fat depots. We examined the association between fat depots on multidetector computed tomography and metabolic regulatory biomarkers. Methods and Results: Participants from the Framingham Heart Study (n=1583, 47% women) underwent assessment of SAT, VAT, and liver attenuation. We measured circulating biomarkers secreted by adipose tissue or liver (adiponectin, leptin, leptin receptor, fatty acid binding protein 4, fetuin‐A, and retinol binding protein 4). Using multivariable linear regression models, we examined relations of fat depots with biomarkers. Higher levels of fat depots were positively associated with leptin and fatty acid binding protein 4 but negatively associated with adiponectin (all P<0.001). Associations with leptin receptor, fetuin‐A, and retinol binding protein 4 varied according to fat depot type or sex. When comparing the associations of SAT and VAT with biomarkers, VAT was the stronger correlate of adiponectin (β=−0.28 [women]; β=−0.30 [men]; both P<0.001), whereas SAT was the stronger correlate of leptin (β=0.62 [women]; β=0.49 [men]; both P<0.001; P<0.001 for comparing VAT versus SAT). Although fetuin‐A and retinol binding protein 4 are secreted by the liver in addition to adipose tissue, associations of liver attenuation with these biomarkers was not stronger than that of SAT or VAT. Conclusions: SAT, VAT, and liver attenuation are associated with metabolic regulatory biomarkers with differences in the associations by fat depot type and sex. These findings support the possibility of biological differences between fat depots.
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    Prevalence, Distribution, and Risk Factor Correlates of High Thoracic Periaortic Fat in the Framingham Heart Study
    (Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2012) Britton, Kathryn; Pedley, Alison; Massaro, Joseph M.; Corsini, Erin M.; Murabito, Joanne M.; Hoffmann, Udo; Fox, Caroline
    Background: Thoracic periaortic adipose tissue (TAT) is associated with atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and may play a role in obesity‐mediated vascular disease. We sought to determine the prevalence, distribution, and risk factor correlates of high TAT. Methods and Results: Participants from the Framingham Heart Study (n=3246, 48% women, mean age 51.1 years) underwent multidetector computed tomography; high TAT and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) were defined on the basis of sex‐specific 90th percentiles in a healthy referent sample. The prevalence of high TAT was 38.1% in women and 35.7% in men. Among individuals without high VAT, 10.1% had high TAT. After adjustment for age and VAT, both women and men with high TAT in the absence of high VAT were older and had a higher prevalence of CVD (P<0.0001) compared with those without high TAT. In addition, men in this group were more likely to be smokers (P=0.02), whereas women were more likely to have low high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (P=0.005). Conclusions: Individuals in our community‐based sample with high TAT in the absence of high VAT were characterized by an adverse cardiometabolic profile. This adipose tissue phenotype may identify a subset of individuals with distinct metabolic characteristics.