Background: Visceral fat accumulation has been known to be an independent risk factor of cardiovascular disease with increased risk of diabetes. It is also associated with inflammation factor, such as adiponectin, leptin, IL-6 and IL-10. Endotoxin is also related with many inflammation factors and atherosclerosis. There are only few studies regarding the correlation between endotoxin concentration and visceral fat in adults. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between visceral fat and serum endotoxin concentration in adults.
Methods: A total of 40 of subjects (26 men and 14 women) were enrolled for this study. The subjects were selected among Korean adults who visited the Department of Family Medicine from January 2009 to August 2009. Abdominal fat area was calculated from CT scan taken at the umbilical level. Serum endotoxin concentration was measured by Endo-Chek TM (Diatech Korea Co..Ltd., Seoul, Korea).
Results: Serum endotoxin concentration was positively correlated with visceral fat in adults (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, serum endotoxin concentration was positively correlated with visceral fat in adults. Further appropriate studies are required to better elucidate the relationship between visceral fat and serum endotoxin concentration among Korean adult population.

Keywords: Abominal obesity, Visceral fat, Endotoxin