Key result
In males, higher fat mass to fat-free mass ratios in the trunk, total body, and arms were significantly associated with prolonged QTc interval, with the trunk ratio yielding an OR of 5.58.
Why the study?
Obesity and fat mass have been linked to QT interval prolongation, but the specific role of different body parts' fat mass remained unclear.
Does regional and total body fat mass associate with prolonged QTc interval in adults?
Cross-Sectional (n=3,217)
Does regional and total body fat mass associate with prolonged QTc interval in adults?
Effect estimate: OR 5.58 (95% CI 1.31-23.72)
p-value: p=0.020
Regional body fat mass, particularly in the trunk, is independently associated with prolonged QTc interval in men but not in women, suggesting a sex-specific cardio-metabolic risk factor for repolarization abnormalities.
May warrant sex-specific QTc monitoring in men with central adiposity; leaves open causality and intervention effects.
BACKGROUND: Previous studies suggested that obesity and fat mass are associated with QT interval prolongation, but the role of different body parts' fat mass is unclear. The associations between total and regional fat mass (FM) and corrected QT interval (QTc) were investigated for the first time in this study. METHODS: software from ECGs and Bazett's formula. Uni- and multi-variable linear and logistic regression was performed in IBM SPSS Statistics v23. RESULTS: In males, the fat mass to fat-free mass (FM/FFM) ratio in the trunk, arms, total body, and legs were significantly higher in the prolonged QTc group (QTc > 450 ms). Trunk (B = 0.148), total (B = 0.137), arms (B = 0.124), legs (B = 0.107) fat mass index (FMI) showed significant positive relationship with continuous QTc (P-value < 0.001). Also, just the fat-free mass index of legs had significant positive associations with QTc interval (P-value < 0.05). Surprisingly, in females, the mean of FM/FFM ratio in trunk and legs in the normal QTc group had higher values than the prolonged QTc group (QTc > 470 ms). Also, none of the body composition variables had a significant correlation with continuous QTc. CONCLUSION: Our study suggested that FMI ratios in the trunk, total body, arms, and legs were positively associated with QTc interval in males, respectively, from a higher to a lower beta-coefficient. Such associations were not seen in females. Our study implies that body fat mass may be an independent risk factor for higher QTc interval and, consequently, more cardiovascular events that should be investigated.
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Yazdanpanah et al. (2021) conducted a cross-sectional in Prolonged QTc interval (n=3,217). Regional body fat mass (Trunk FM/FFM ratio) vs. Normal QTc interval was evaluated on Association of trunk fat mass to fat-free mass (FM/FFM) ratio with prolonged QTc (>450 ms) in males (OR 5.58, 95% CI 1.31-23.72, p=0.020). In males, higher fat mass to fat-free mass ratios in the trunk, total body, and arms were significantly associated with prolonged QTc interval, with the trunk ratio yielding an OR of 5.58.
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