Why the study?
Epicardial adipose tissue enhances coronary atherosclerotic plaque development via paracrine effects, but its relationships with adipokines, coronary atherosclerosis, and adverse cardiovascular events in asymptomatic type 2 diabetes mellitus required evaluation.
Does epicardial fat volume predict coronary atherosclerosis and cardiovascular adverse events in asymptomatic patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus?
Does epicardial fat volume predict coronary atherosclerosis and cardiovascular adverse events in asymptomatic patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus?
Epicardial fat volume has limited utility as an independent marker of coronary artery plaque in asymptomatic patients with T2DM, though higher volumes may be associated with adverse cardiovascular events.
EFV lacks independent value for plaque prediction in T2DM; leaves open its association with events for prospective validation.
Epicardial adipose tissue has a paracrine effect, enhancing coronary artery atherosclerotic plaque development. This study evaluated epicardial fat volume (EFV), adipokines, coronary atherosclerosis, and adverse cardiovascular events in a cohort of asymptomatic patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Epicardial fat volume was calculated using data from computed tomography coronary angiograms. Adipokines and inflammatory cytokines were also assayed and correlated with EFV. Epicardial fat volume was also assessed as a predictor of coronary artery calcium (CAC) score, number of coronary artery plaques, and significant plaque (>50% luminal stenosis). Data from the EFV analysis were available for 221 (85.7%) participants. Median EFV was 97.4 cm 3 , mean body mass index was 28.1 kg/m 2 , and mean duration of T2DM was 13 years. Statistically significant, but weak, correlations were observed between several adipokines, inflammatory cytokines, and EFV. Epicardial fat volume was a significant univariate ( P = .01), but not multivariate, predictor of the number of coronary plaques, but not of CAC score or significant plaque. After a mean follow-up of 22.8 months, 12 adverse cardiovascular events were reported, exclusively in participants with EFV >97.4 cm 3 . Epicardial fat volume has limited utility as a marker of coronary artery plaque in patients with T2DM and is weakly correlated with adipokine expression.
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Venuraju et al. (2021) studied this question.
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