Increased epicardial adipose tissue volume is associated with higher arterial stiffness in patients with diabetes, highlighting a potential pathway for cardiovascular risk.
INTRODUCTION: Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) and arterial stiffness are determinants of excess risk of cardiovascular disease in persons with diabetes. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between both of these conditions in a cohort of patients with diabetes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A part retrospective, part prospective non-interventional cohort study of people living with diabetes who had (i) a computed tomography scan to measure both their coronary artery calcium score and EAT volume (proprietary prototype, GE HealthCare), and (ii) a finger-to-toe pulse wave velocity (PWV) measurement to assess arterial stiffness. The study's ClinicalTrials.gov identifier is NCT05681533. RESULTS: increase in EAT volume was associated with a 14% increase in the probability of belonging to the third PWV tertile (odds ratio 1.14 95%CI 1.06 - 1.21; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: EAT volume was associated with arterial stiffness in people living with diabetes. This association suggests that systemic inflammatory and metabolic mechanisms, through EAT and/or other associated ectopic adipose tissues, may contribute to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Koutcha et al. (Wed,) studied this question.