SummaryThe planned analysis aims to investigate the association between long-term environmental exposures and body fat distribution derived by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). While there is growing evidence on the association between air pollution and metabolic diseases, a research gap exists on the association of multiple environmental exposures with the amount of adipose tissue depots. To analyze this association, we will use geocoded data of multiple long-term environmental exposures, e.g. greenness, air pollution, temperature and noise, which are linked to NAKO participants. The outcomes of interest are abdominal obesity markers, like visceral adipose tissue (VAT), subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and liver fat, which are measured by the gold-standard method, MRI. First, we will apply single-exposure models to quantify effects of each exposure on abdominal obesity. Since we also assume potential joint effects of multiple exposures on obesity, we will employ multi-exposure models. While evidence on this link is still rare, the NAKO study can contribute substantial evidence on the association of environmental exposures with the development of metabolic outcomes. Moreover, the NAKO can overcome the major limitations of previous studies because of the large number of participants who underwent whole-body MRI and the large, detailed amount of geocoded environmental exposure data linked to its participants.
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InstitutionsHelmholtz Zentrum München, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Universitätsklinikum Freiburg, University of Freiburg, Uniklinik Freiburg, Section on Experimental Radiology, Klinik und Poliklinik für Radiolgie