Association between hemorheological alteration and clinical diagnosis of metabolic syndrome among patients qualified for bariatric surgery

This study presents the association between metabolic syndrome and hemorheological parameters among obese patients qualified for bariatric surgery. We studied 73 morbidly obese patients who were qualified for bariatric surgery. Blood and plasma viscosity measurements were performed using a cone-plate viscometer (Brookfield DV-II). RBC aggregation was measured using the Laser-assisted Optical Rotational Cell Analyser (LORCA). The following parameters for the aggregation process were estimated: aggregation index (AI), amplitude (AMP), aggregation half-time (t1/2), threshold shear rate (γthr), the fast (Tfast) and the slow (Tslow) component. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the Adult Treatment Panel III and International Diabetes Federation criteria. The obese presented differences in all rheological properties compared to control, regardless of clinical diagnosis of metabolic syndrome, except that whole blood viscosity was higher only in the obese metabolic syndrome group. No differences among the obese with and without metabolic syndrome were observed except in hematocrit. Whole blood viscosity and corrected blood viscosity correlated positively with WHR and BMI. AI, γthr, Tslow correlated positively with BMI, WHR, total cholesterol level and low-density lipoproteins. Negative correlation presented t1/2 with BMI, WHR, fibrinogen, total cholesterol level and low-density lipoproteins. The study showed that morbid obesity is associated with hemorheological disturbances independently of clinical diagnosis of metabolic syndrome.