Relationship of Total Hemoglobin in Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue with Whole-Body and Visceral Adiposity in Humans

High whole-body and visceral adiposity are risk factors that can cause metabolic diseases. We hypothesized that the total hemoglobin concentration (total-Hb) in abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (SATab), an indicator of white adipose tissue (WAT) vascularity, correlates negatively with risk factors for developing metabolic diseases, such as whole-body and visceral adiposity. We tested the optical characteristics of abdominal tissue in 140 participants (45 men and 95 women) who were apparently healthy individuals with a median age of 39 years. They also had a median body fat percentage of 25.4%, a visceral fat area of 50.4 cm2, and a SATab thickness of 1.05 cm. These tests were conducted using near-infrared time-resolved spectroscopy (NIRTRS) with a 2-cm optode separation. To distinguish the segments of SATab (SegSAT) and the mixture of muscle and SATab (SegSAT+Mus), the threshold was analyzed using the slopes of (total-Hb) against the thickness of SATab using the least-squares mean method. According to the results from the logistic regression analysis, the percentage of body fat and visceral fat area remained significant predictors of the (total-Hb) (p = 0.005 and p = 0.043, respectively) in the data for SegSAT (no influence from the SATab thickness). We conclude that simple, rapid, and noninvasive NIRTRS-determined (total-Hb) in WAT could be a useful parameter for evaluating risk factors for metabolic diseases.