Total Cholesterol Is Not Associated With DXA-Derived Visceral Adipose Tissue in Collegiate Rugby Union Athletes

Authors

Regan Renfro, Sam Houston State UniversityFollow
Hayden Johnson, Sam Houston State UniversityFollow
Christian Rivera, Sam Houston Station UniversityFollow
Stephanie Hansford, Sam Houston State UniversityFollow
Dalton Prye, Sam Houston State UniversityFollow
Matthew Poole, Sam Houston State UniversityFollow
Saheed Jaiyeola, Sam Houston State UniversityFollow
Sage A. Newman, Sam Houston State UniversityFollow
Adesiji Adetona, Sam Houston State UniversityFollow
Oscar Woodside, Sam Houston State UniversityFollow
Jmya Hughes, Sam Houston State UniversityFollow
Preston James, Sam Houston State UniversityFollow
Kelly Hines, University at BuffaloFollow
Jade Simon, Sam Houston State UniversityFollow
Drew E. GonzalezFollow
Christopher D. GreenleafFollow
Micheil Spillane, Sam Houston State UniversityFollow

Abstract

Visceral fat has shown a direct correlation with unhealthy cholesterol levels. PURPOSE: Determine the association between point-of-care total cholesterol (TC) and DXA-derived visceral adipose tissue (VAT) in collegiate rugby union athletes. METHODS: Twenty-one male rugby athletes (age 21.7±2.1 y; BMI 28.9±6.7 kg/m²) completed morning testing (06:00-09:00 h) following an overnight fast, post-void, no caffeine ≥12 h, and no exercise ≥24 h; hydration was screened prior to DXA. TC (mg/dL) was assessed from capillary whole blood via fingerstick using an Accutrend Plus analyzer. Values below the device reporting limit (<150 mg/dL; 3.88 mmol/L) were set to 150 mg/dL for analysis. VAT mass (g) was quantified via whole-body DXA (Hologic Horizon W; APEX v5.6.1.3 rev 007, standard tissue analysis; daily QC within tolerance). Pearson correlations examined TC vs VAT; secondary analyses included TC vs BMI and a sensitivity analysis excluding a VAT outlier (1.5×IQR) (p<0.05). RESULTS: TC was 162.3±19.4 mg/dL (range 150-220); 10/21 (47.6%) were below the reporting limit and 2/21 (9.5%) had TC ≥200 mg/dL. VAT mass was 427.9 ± 214.9 g (range 200.1-1023.7). TC was not associated with VAT mass (r=-0.086, p=0.712; identical results for VAT volume and area) or BMI (r=-0.190, p=0.410), whereas VAT strongly correlated with BMI (r=0.886, p<0.001). One VAT outlier (>866 g) did not influence the TC-VAT association (r=0.009, p=0.970). CONCLUSION: In fasted collegiate rugby union athletes, point-of-care capillary TC did not reflect DXA-derived VAT despite substantial VAT variability and a TC floor effect, indicating TC and VAT capture distinct cardiometabolic constructs in young athletic populations.

Recommended Citation

Renfro, Regan; Johnson, Hayden; Rivera, Christian; Hansford, Stephanie; Prye, Dalton; Poole, Matthew; Jaiyeola, Saheed; Newman, Sage A.; Adetona, Adesiji; Woodside, Oscar; Hughes, Jmya; James, Preston; Hines, Kelly; Simon, Jade; Gonzalez, Drew E.; Greenleaf, Christopher D.; and Spillane, Micheil (2026) "Total Cholesterol Is Not Associated With DXA-Derived Visceral Adipose Tissue in Collegiate Rugby Union Athletes," International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 2: Iss. 18, Article 229.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol2/iss18/229