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. 2019 Feb;24(1):67-72.
doi: 10.1007/s40519-018-0532-z. Epub 2018 Jun 28.

Relationship of para- and perirenal fat and epicardial fat with metabolic parameters in overweight and obese subjects

Carlo Manno  1 , Nicla Campobasso  2 , Adele Nardecchia  3 , Vincenzo Triggiani  4 , Roberta Zupo  3 , Loreto Gesualdo  2 , Franco Silvestris  3 , Giovanni De Pergola  3
Affiliations

Relationship of para- and perirenal fat and epicardial fat with metabolic parameters in overweight and obese subjects

Carlo Manno et al. Eat Weight Disord. 2019 Feb.

Abstract

Background: The accumulation of visceral body fat, has been shown to be associated with higher risk of metabolic and cardiovascular disease. This study was addressed to examine whether para- and perirenal fat thickness and epicardial fat thickness were correlated with anthropometric- and cardiometabolic risk factors.

Methods: A cohort of 102 uncomplicated overweight and obese patients was examined. BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting insulin, glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol serum levels, and insulin resistance (assessed by HOMAIR) were measured. Para- and perirenal fat thickness (PUFT) and epicardial fat thickness (EUFT) were measured by ultrasounds.

Results: PUFT was positively correlated with BMI (p < 0.001), waist circumference (p < 0.001), insulin (p < 0.001), HOMAIR (p < 0.001), triglycerides (p < 0.05), systolic (p < 0.05) and diastolic (p < 0.05) blood pressure, and negatively correlated with HDL-cholesterol (p < 0.01). EUFT was positively associated with age (p < 0.01), BMI (p < 0.001), waist circumference (p < 0.001), systolic (p < 0.01) and diastolic (p < 0.001) blood pressure, and LDL-cholesterol (p < 0.05). A multivariate analysis by multiple linear regression was performed, and the final model showed a direct association of waist circumference with both PUFT and EUFT, a correlation of PUFT with HOMAIR (positive) and HDL-cholesterol (negative), and a direct association of EUFT (both long axis and short axis) with LDL-cholesterol. All these correlations were independent of other anthropometric, metabolic and hemodynamic parameters.

Conclusions: This study shows that accumulation of central fat in apparently healthy overweight and obese subjects is associated to a simultaneous increase of pararenal, perirenal and epicardial fat. Moreover, it shows that only para- and perirenal fat is independently associated to insulin resistance and lower HDL-cholesterol, and only epicardial fat is independently associated to higher LDL cholesterol. Level of evidence Level V, cross-sectional descriptive study.

Keywords: Epicardial fat; Insulin resistance; Obesity; Para- and perirenal fat.

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Comment in

  • Targeting the organ-specific adiposity.
    Iacobellis G, Barbaro G. Iacobellis G, et al. Eat Weight Disord. 2019 Feb;24(1):1-2. doi: 10.1007/s40519-018-0554-6. Epub 2018 Aug 14. Eat Weight Disord. 2019. PMID: 30109494 No abstract available.

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