Association of visceral fat with endothelial progenitor cell levels in prediabetes

Background: Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) have recently been considered as a potential novel biomarker of vascular integrity, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular risk. Aim: This study was performed to investigate the main determinants of EPC levels in individuals with prediabetes. Materials - Methods: Thirty-nine subjects with newly diagnosed prediabetes were enrolled. Flow cytometry was used to quantify EPCs (CD34+VEGFR-2+). Traditional risk factors, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and anthropometric parameters, including ultrasonographic quantification of visceral and subcutaneous fat, were recorded. Results: At the univariate analysis, EPC levels significantly and negatively correlated with waist circumference (p=0.017), mean arterial pressure (p=0.009), total cholesterol (p=0.003), hs-CRP (p=0.006), HOMA-IR (p=0.031) and visceral fat (p=0.040). However, at the stepwise multivariate ordinal logistic regression analysis, only visceral fat retained its statistical significance (OR=0.79, 95% Cl: 0.64-0.98, p=0.032). Conclusions: Visceral fat seems to be the main determinant of EPC levels in individuals with prediabetes and a plausible link between mild metabolic abnormalities, cardiovascular risk and vascular homeostasis process.