Department of Cardiology, Tepecik Research and Training Hospital, Izmir, Turkey.
Tohoku J Exp Med. 2012 Oct;228(2):119-24. doi: 10.1620/tjem.228.119.
Epicardial fat tissue is a visceral fat depot with anatomical and functional contiguity to the myocardium and coronary arteries. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between epicardial fat thickness (EFT) and cardiac changes in healthy female subjects. The study population consisted of ninety-six consecutive healthy female (mean age 31.1 ± 6.7 years) who underwent transthoracic echocardiography. EFT was measured by echocardiography. Subjects were divided into two groups according to the EFT; EFT < 6 mm and EFT ≥ 6 mm. The cardiac structural changes, increased left atrial volume indices (LAVI) (41.2 ± 9.9 vs. 52.6 ± 12.5, p = 0.001) and left ventricular mass indices (LVMI) (129.6 ± 32.1 vs. 155.6 ± 31.6 p < 0.05), were observed in patients with increased EFT. Myocardial tei index (MTI), which was used to evaluate both systolic and diastolic functions, was higher with increased EFT (0.44 ± 0.07 vs. 0.48 ± 0.08, p = 0.02). The correlation analysis revealed significant correlation between EFT and each of LAVI (r = 0.312, p = 0.002), LVMI (r = 0.301, p = 0.003), body mass index (BMI) (r = 0.8, p < 0.001), and MTI (r = 0.27, p = 0.005). Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that EFT was associated with BMI (t = 5.28, p = 0.001), MTI (r = 2.39, p = 0.019), LVMI (r = 2.16, p = 0.01), and LAVI (r = 3.21, p = 0.002). In conclusion, EFT is an important predictor of cardiac alterations in women who are prone to obesity.
心外膜脂肪组织是一种内脏脂肪库，与心肌和冠状动脉在解剖和功能上具有连续性。本研究的目的是评估心外膜脂肪厚度（EFT）与健康女性心脏变化之间的关系。研究人群包括 96 名连续的健康女性（平均年龄 31.1±6.7 岁），她们接受了经胸超声心动图检查。通过超声心动图测量 EFT。根据 EFT 将受试者分为两组；EFT＜6mm 和 EFT≥6mm。在 EFT 增加的患者中观察到心脏结构变化，包括左心房容积指数（LAVI）增加（41.2±9.9 比 52.6±12.5，p=0.001）和左心室质量指数（LVMI）增加（129.6±32.1 比 155.6±31.6，p＜0.05）。用于评估收缩和舒张功能的心肌综合指数（MTI）随着 EFT 的增加而升高（0.44±0.07 比 0.48±0.08，p=0.02）。相关性分析显示 EFT 与 LAVI（r=0.312，p=0.002）、LVMI（r=0.301，p=0.003）、体重指数（BMI）（r=0.8，p＜0.001）和 MTI（r=0.27，p=0.005）均呈显著相关。多元回归分析表明，EFT 与 BMI（t=5.28，p=0.001）、MTI（r=2.39，p=0.019）、LVMI（r=2.16，p=0.01）和 LAVI（r=3.21，p=0.002）相关。总之，EFT 是肥胖女性心脏改变的一个重要预测指标。
