Cited 13 times since 2020 (3.1 per year) source: EuropePMC European heart journal. Cardiovascular Imaging, Volume 21, Issue 3, 1 1 2020, Pages 273-281 The impact of visceral and general obesity on vascular and left ventricular function and geometry: a cross-sectional magnetic resonance imaging study of the UK Biobank. van Hout MJP, Dekkers IA, Westenberg JJM, Schalij MJ, Scholte AJHA, Lamb HJ
Aims
We aimed to evaluate the associations of body fat distribution with cardiovascular function and geometry in the middle-aged general population.
Methods and results
Four thousand five hundred and ninety participants of the UK Biobank (54% female, mean age 61.1 ± 7.2 years) underwent cardiac magnetic resonance for assessment of left ventricular (LV) parameters [end-diastolic volume (EDV), ejection fraction (EF), cardiac output (CO), and index (CI)] and magnetic resonance imaging for body composition analysis [subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT)]. Body fat percentage (BF%) was assessed by bioelectrical impedance. Linear regressions were performed to assess the impact of visceral (VAT) and general (SAT and BF%) obesity on cardiac function and geometry. Visceral obesity was associated with a smaller EDV [VAT: β -1.74 (-1.15 to -2.33)], lower EF [VAT: β -0.24 (-0.12 to -0.35), SAT: β 0.02 (-0.04 to 0.08), and BF%: β 0.02 (-0.02 to 0.06)] and the strongest negative association with CI [VAT: β -0.05 (-0.06 to -0.04), SAT: β -0.02 (-0.03 to -0.01), and BF% β -0.01 (-0.013 to -0.007)]. In contrast, general obesity was associated with a larger EDV [SAT: β 1.01 (0.72-1.30), BF%: β 0.37 (0.23-0.51)] and a higher CO [SAT: β 0.06 (0.05-0.07), BF%: β 0.02 (0.01-0.03)]. In the gender-specific analysis, only men had a significant association between VAT and EF [β -0.35 (-0.19 to -0.51)].
Conclusion
Visceral obesity was associated with a smaller LV EDV and subclinical lower LV systolic function in men, suggesting that visceral obesity might play a more important role compared to general obesity in LV remodelling.
