Excess abdominal fat is known to raise the risk of metabolic disorders like diabetes and heart disease. A new study adds yet another reason to target stubborn visceral fat accumulation, as the researchers found that it is linked to widespread chronic pain, particularly in women.

Earlier studies have shown that obesity, in general, is linked to musculoskeletal pain. The latest study published in the journal Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine explored how excess fat tissue around the abdomen affects the risk of chronic musculoskeletal pain at multiple body sites.

To investigate this, researchers analyzed data from 32,409 participants in the UK Biobank study, with an average age of 55. Participants completed questionnaires and underwent health assessments, including MRI scans, to measure two types of abdominal fat: visceral adipose tissue (VAT), which surrounds internal organs, and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), the fat just beneath the skin that can be pinched.

The participants were asked to report any pain, including pain in the neck/shoulder, back, hip, knee, or all over the body for more than 3 months. After two years, the MRI scan and pain assessments were repeated in 638 participants.

Detailed analyses revealed a clear link between the number of chronic pain sites and body fat types, including visceral fat (VAT), subcutaneous fat (SAT), their ratio, and BMI.

"The association was stronger in women among whom the odds ratio of a higher number of chronic pain sites were twice as high for VAT, and 60% greater for both SAT and the VAT:SAT ratio. In men, these odds ratios were 34% 39%, and 13% higher, respectively. Higher levels of fat tissue were also associated with greater odds of reporting chronic pain, and again the association was more pronounced in women," the news release stated.

However, since the study is observational, it cannot establish a cause-and-effect relationship between abdominal fat and chronic pain. The study also has certain limitations, including the small size of the repeat MRI and the lack of an assessment of the severity of the pain.

"Abdominal adipose tissue was associated with chronic musculoskeletal pain, suggesting that excessive and ectopic fat depositions may be involved in the pathogenesis of multisite and widespread chronic musculoskeletal pain. Therefore, reducing abdominal adiposity may be considered a target for chronic pain management, particularly in those with pain in multiple sites and widespread pain," the researchers wrote.

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