Association between alcohol consumption and ectopic fat in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

The relationship between alcohol consumption and ectopic fat distribution, both known factors for cardiovascular disease, remains understudied. Researchers examined the association between alcohol consumption and ectopic adiposity in adults at risk for cardiovascular disease. In a cross-sectional analysis, alcohol intake among participants in MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis) was categorised as follows (drinks/day): <1 (light drinking), 1 to 2 (moderate drinking), >2 (heavy drinking), former drinking, and lifetime abstention. Binge drinking was defined as consuming ≥5 drinks on 1 occasion in the past month. Visceral, subcutaneous, and intermuscular fat area, pericardial fat volume, and hepatic fat attenuation were measured using noncontrast computed tomography. The research examined the associations between categories of alcohol consumption and natural log-transformed fat in ectopic depots. 6,756 MESA participants were included in the study, of whom 6,734 had chest computed tomography (pericardial and hepatic fat) and 1,934 had abdominal computed tomography (subcutaneous, intermuscular, and visceral fat).
Analysis found that heavy drinking, relative to lifetime abstention, was associated with a higher (relative percent difference) pericardial 15.1 [95% CI, 7.1-27.7], hepatic 3.4 [95% CI, 0.1-6.8], visceral 2.5 [95% CI, -10.4 to 17.2], and intermuscular 5.2 [95% CI, -6.6 to 18.4] fat but lower subcutaneous fat -3.5 [95% CI, -15.5 to 10.2]). The associations between alcohol consumption and ectopic adiposity exhibited a J-shaped pattern. Binge drinking, relative to light-to-moderate drinking, was also associated with higher ectopic fat.
The analysis found that alcohol consumption had a J-shaped association with ectopic adiposity. Both heavy alcohol intake and binge alcohol drinking were associated with higher ectopic fat.
Source: Kazibwe R, Chevli PA, Evans JK, Allison M, Michos ED, Wood AC, Ding J, Shapiro MD, Mongraw-Chaffin M. Association Between Alcohol Consumption and Ectopic Fat in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. J Am Heart Assoc. 2023 Sep 19;12(18): e030470.