Thoracic periaortic adipose tissue in relation to cardiovascular risk in type 2 diabetes mellitus

To evaluate thoracic periaortic adipose tissue (TAT) burden in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) in comparison with controls and in relation to cardiovascular risk factors.

A total of 93 patients with type 2 DM (mean (standard deviation; SD) age: 56.7 (11.2) years, 71.0 % were men) and 85 nondiabetic control subjects (mean (SD) age: 54.6 (10.9) years, 58.8 % were men) who were admitted to Mevlana University hospital between January 2011 and June 2013 and underwent multidetector computed tomography for any reason were included in this retrospective cohort study. Patient and control groups were compared in terms of demographic characteristics, anthropometrics, and laboratory findings. TAT volume was evaluated in both groups, while correlates of TAT were determined via linear regression analysis among patients.

In patients with type 2 DM, TAT volume (40.1 (23.9) versus 16.9 (7.7) cm(3), p < 0.001), fasting blood glucose (p < 0.001), total cholesterol (p < 0.001), triglyceride (p = 0.017), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (p = 0.034) levels were significantly higher compared with the control group. Strong positive correlation of TAT was noted with body mass index (r = 0.339, p = 0.001) and serum levels for fasting blood glucose (r = 0.343, p < 0.001), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c; r = 0.615, p < 0.001), total cholesterol (r = 0.269, p = 0.009), and LDL cholesterol (r = 0.258, p = 0.013). In stepwise regression analysis, Hba1c emerged as a significant predictor of TAT (b = 0.610, p < 0.001), contributing to 19 % of its variability.

In conclusion, our findings indicate significantly higher values for TAT in diabetics than controls, being associated positively with body weight, poor glycemic control, and dyslipidemia and strongly predicted by HbA1c levels in diabetic patients, while not differing with respect to gender, smoking status, and concomitant hypertension.