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Aorta and Iliac Arterial Sizes in Pre-operative Morbidly Obese Patients: a preliminary report
1Department of Surgery, The University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Memphis, TN 38163 USA.
Insights
Morbidly obese women have enlarged aorta and iliac arteries compared to normal weight individuals. Factors like smoking, age, and hypertension also influence these vessel sizes in obese patients.
Area of Science:
- Vascular Biology
- Obesity Medicine
- Radiology
Background:
- Morbid obesity is associated with increased central blood flow and cardiac output.
- This may lead to alterations in major artery dimensions.
- Potential influencing factors include smoking, age, weight, and hypertension.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate aortic and common iliac artery diameters in morbidly obese females.
- To compare these diameters with those of normal weight controls.
- To assess the correlation of vessel size with obesity metrics and other risk factors.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of computed tomography scans from 44 morbidly obese females undergoing bariatric surgery.
- Comparison with age-matched, normal weight control subjects.
- Measurement of aorta and common iliac artery diameters at standardized levels.
Main Results:
- Morbidly obese females exhibited significantly enlarged aortic and iliac artery diameters compared to controls.
- No correlation was found between obesity metrics (weight, BMI, age at onset) and vessel diameters.
- Smoking, age, and hypertension showed a significant positive correlation with aorto-iliac diameters (p < 0.05).
Conclusions:
- Morbid obesity is associated with significantly enlarged aorta and common iliac artery diameters.
- These arterial enlargements are influenced by smoking, age, and hypertension in middle-aged obese women.
- Obesity metrics themselves did not directly correlate with the measured arterial diameters.
Abstract:
Central blood flow and cardiac output are increased in most morbidly obese patients. This may be reflected in abnormal vessel sizes. Other influences such as smoking, age, weight, vertebral size, hypertension and age at onset of obesity may also be operative. Abnormal aorta and common iliac artery diameters were retrospectively measured on abnormal computer-assisted axial tomography scans of 44 morbidly obese, vascular disease-free females prior to their bariatric surgery. They were compared at standardized aortic and ileac levels with normal weight, similar age, control patients. There was no correlation between patient body weight, body mass index, percent excess body weight or age at onset of obesity versus any of the aortic or iliac diameters. Pearson's correlation analysis of smoking, age and hypertension each showed a significant positive relationship with aorto-iliac diameters (p < 0.05). Vertebral coronal body widths revealed a significant correlation with age (p < 0.05) but not with body weight, aortic or iliac diameters at any level. We conclude that the aortic and iliac arterial diameters of morbidly obese patients are significantly enlarged relative to normal weight controls. Smoking, age and hypertension also appear to have some degree of influence on aorto-iliac diameters in morbidly obese middle-aged women.