I read with great interest the article by Guerrero et al.,1 who used a large population-based study and several spectroscopic and imaging methodologies to assess the contribution of body fat distribution to the differing rates of hepatic steatosis in the three major US ethnic groups (African American, Hispanic, and Caucasian). They suggested that the differing rates of hepatic steatosis among the three ethnic groups are associated with similar differences in visceral adiposity. Interestingly, in comparison with either His-panics or Caucasians, African Americans appear to be more resistant to the hypertriglyceridemia associated with insulin resistance despite their lower levels of intraperitoneal and liver fat.1 Here I propose hypovitaminosis D as a potential underlying mechanism for the high prevalence of insulin resistance in African Americans on the basis of the following findings.
展开▼
