Epicardial Fat Thickness Correlates With Carotid Intima-Media Thickness, Arterial Stiffness, and Cardiac Geometry in Children and Adolescents

• Published in: Pediatric cardiology Vol. 35; no. 3; pp. 450 - 456
• Main Authors: Cabrera-Rego, Julio Oscar, Iacobellis, Gianluca, Castillo-Herrera, José Arcides, Valiente-Mustelier, Juan, Gandarilla-Sarmientos, Julio C., Marín-Juliá, Silvia María, Navarrete-Cabrera, Juliette
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-03-2014; Springer
• Subjects: Adipose Tissue - diagnostic imaging; Adipose Tissue - pathology; Adolescent; Anthropometry; Atherosclerosis; Blood Chemical Analysis; Cardiac Surgery; Cardiology; Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; Case-Control Studies; Child; Children; Children's furniture; Comparative analysis; Coronary Artery Disease - pathology; Echocardiography; Female; Health aspects; Humans; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Obesity - pathology; Obesity in adolescence; Obesity in children; Original Article; Pediatric cardiology; Pericardium - diagnostic imaging; Pericardium - pathology; Risk Assessment; Type 2 diabetes; Vascular Stiffness; Vascular Surgery; Wave propagation; Cuba; Canada; Obesity; Epicardial fat; Atherosclerosis
• ISSN: 0172-0643; 1432-1971
• DOI: 10.1007/s00246-013-0799-9

To determine the association between epicardial fat thickness and carotid arterial stiffness, carotid intima-media thickness (CMIT), left atrial (LA) volume, and left-ventricular (LV) geometry parameters in obese children and adolescents compared with controls. A case-control study was performed in 96 children and adolescents (obese
n
 = 66, controls
n
 = 30) age 9–16 years old (38 female and 58 male, mean age 11.7 ± 2.8 years) undergoing transthoracic echocardiography and carotid artery ultrasound. Clinical, anthropometric, and biochemical determinations were also recorded. Epicardial fat thickness (2.76 ± 1.2 vs. 1.36 ± 0.7 mm,
p
 < 0.001), LA volume (35.7 ± 13.2 vs. 28.9 ± 9.8 mL,
p
 = 0.008), LV mass (118.3 ± 38.6 vs. 96.4 ± 35.4 mL,
p
 = 0.008), CIMT (0.48 ± 0.07 vs. 0.44 ± 0.05 mm,
p
 = 0.019), and local pulse wave velocity (LPWV; 3.7 ± 0.5 vs. 3.2 ± 0.4 m/seg,
p
 = 0.007) were significantly increased in obese children and adolescents compared with controls. Epicardial fat showed a significant and positive correlation with LA volume, LV mass, and LPWV as well as a significant and independent association with increased CIMT (odds ratio (OR) = 3.19 [1.88–7.99],
p
 = 0.005) in the study population. Epicardial fat thickness is linked to obesity, carotid subclinical atherosclerosis, and cardiac geometry parameters and might be a useful tool for the cardiovascular risk stratification in children and adolescents.