2.2 Imaging analysis
Radiological measurements were performed by two radiologists in cooperation (RO, AGE), who were blinded to all clinical information of patients. Contrast-enhanced (CT) images of all patients with 5 mm section thickness at the venous phase were selected. For the interpretation of each CT image, axial CT images oriented parallel to superior and inferior endplates of L3 vertebrae were selected. The CT images were evaluated via Region Growing application of Syngo.Via Software (Siemens Healthcare GmbH, Germany). Within every cross-sectional CT image, SMA, total adipose tissue (TAT), SAT and VAT were determined separately and outlined semi-automatically. These parameters were standadized according to the stature and represented in units of cm2/m2 [VAT index (VATI), superficial adipose tissue (SATI), TAT index (TATI), and SMA index (SMI)], as described previously [19].