Investigation of the relationship between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and coronary artery disease

The purpose of the study was to examine the association between visceral adiposity form of non-alcoholic fatty liver and coronary artery disease severity and also to investigate the relationship between the epicardial adipose tissue thickness and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease with clinical and anthropometric measurements.

This study included 105 patients (mean age of patients were 57 ± 11, 82 of them male) who were hospitalized for coronary angiography because of chest pain. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease was investigated by using ultrasonography. Thickness of the epicardial adipose tissue was measured by transthorasic echocardiography to right ventricular free wall adjacent to the parasternal long and short axis images. Gensini score was used for the severity of coronary artery disease.

In patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, right ventricular free wall epicardial adipose tissue thickness average of parasternal long and short axis were thicker than those who do not have non alcholic fatty liver disease (0,90 ± 0,19 cm; 0.58 ± 0.18 cm, p<0.001). Also, in patients with severe coronary artery disease, right ventricular free wall parasternal long and short axis average thickness of epicardial fat tissue was thicker than those of patients without severe coronary stenosis (0.86 ± 0.21 cm; 0,66 ± 0.26 cm, p=0.001). For predictability of coronary artery disease, Receiver Operating Characteristic analysis of the area under the curve was found to be 0.60 (50.2 to 74.7, 95% Confidence Limits).

Not only the fatty tissue which surrounds the heart effects the coronary arteries but also other visceral organs adiposity effects the coronary arteries atherosclerotic process.