Subtype-specific Body Composition and Metabolic Risk in Patients With Primary Aldosteronism

Primary aldosteronism (PA) is associated with increased metabolic risks. However, controversy exists as to which subtype of PA has a higher metabolic risk between bilateral and lateralized PA. This study aimed to assess the body composition of 2 PA subtypes, bilateral PA and lateralized PA, according to sex and autonomous cortisol secretion (ACS) and their contribution to comorbidities.

A total of 400 patients with PA (females, n = 210) and 1:10 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (n = 4000) were enrolled. The skeletal muscle area (SMA), subcutaneous fat area, and visceral fat area (VFA) at the third lumbar spine were calculated using abdominal computed tomography-based body composition analysis.

Patients with bilateral PA had higher body mass index (BMI) in both sexes (all P < .05). Hemoglobin A1c level and the prevalence of diabetes were higher in female patients with bilateral PA than in those with lateralized PA (all P < .05). The VFA/BMI ratio was significantly higher in bilateral PA patients than in lateralized PA patients (5.77 ± 2.69 vs 4.56 ± 2.35 in men; 4.03 ± 2.58 vs 2.53 ± 2.05 in women, all P < .001). PA patients with ACS showed decreased SMA compared to those without ACS. Compared with healthy controls, all patients with bilateral PA and female patients with lateralized PA showed significantly higher VFA and VFA/BMI.

Patients with bilateral PA were more obese and had higher VFA levels than those with lateralized PA. Despite a milder form of PA, this metabolically unfavorable visceral fat distribution may lead to a higher metabolic risk in patients with bilateral PA.