Implications of Pericardial, Visceral and Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue on Vascular Inflammation Measured Using...

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Disease Research
• Metabolic Syndrome Studies
• Adipose Tissue Biology

Background:

• Pericardial adipose tissue (PAT) is linked to adverse cardiometabolic risk factors and cardiovascular disease (CVD).
• The comparative impact of PAT, abdominal visceral adipose tissue (VFA), and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SFA) on vascular inflammation remains underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the distinct associations of PAT, VFA, and SFA with vascular inflammation.
• To compare the relationship between different adipose depots and cardiometabolic risk profiles.

Main Methods:

• Utilized 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography (18FDG-PET) to measure vascular inflammation via target-to-background ratio (TBR).
• Assessed PAT, VFA, and SFA in 93 individuals without diabetes or CVD.
• Performed age- and sex-adjusted correlation analyses.

Main Results:

• PAT, VFA, and SFA correlated positively with most cardiometabolic risk factors (e.g., blood pressure, LDL-cholesterol, glucose, hsCRP) and negatively with HDL-cholesterol.
• Maximum TBR (maxTBR) showed significant positive correlations with PAT (r=0.48) and VFA (r=0.45).
• SFA exhibited a weaker positive association with maxTBR (r=0.31).

Conclusions:

• Both PAT and VFA are significantly associated with vascular inflammation.
• PAT and VFA demonstrate similar associations with vascular inflammation and cardiometabolic risk profiles.
• These findings underscore the importance of pericardial and visceral fat in cardiovascular health.