Echocardiographic Assessment in Various Obesity Phenotypes: A Cross-Sectional Study

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Obesity Medicine
• Metabolic Syndrome Research

Background:

• Obesity is a significant risk factor for metabolic syndrome and subsequent cardiovascular abnormalities.
• Established obesity phenotypes include metabolically healthy obese (MHO), metabolically unhealthy non-obese (MUNO), metabolically unhealthy obese (MUO), and metabolically healthy non-obese (MHNO).
• Obese adults exhibit a substantially higher likelihood of left ventricular hypertrophy compared to non-obese individuals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct an echocardiographic assessment of cardiac function across different obesity phenotypes.
• To investigate the prevalence of systolic and diastolic dysfunction in various obesity classifications.

Main Methods:

• An observational study involving 400 patients, categorized into four groups (MUO, MHO, MUNO, and MHNO controls) of 100 each.
• Collection of anthropometric data and estimation of metabolic parameters.
• Echocardiographic assessment of cardiac systolic and diastolic function.

Main Results:

• The highest mean BMI was observed in the metabolically unhealthy obese (MUO) group.
• Grade II diastolic dysfunction was most prevalent in MUO patients (43%), significantly higher than in MHO (12%) and MUNO (16%) groups.
• Systolic dysfunction was unexpectedly higher in the metabolically healthy non-obese (MHNO) control group compared to all obese phenotypes.

Conclusions:

• Cardiac function abnormalities, including ventricular systolic and diastolic dysfunctions, show a significant positive correlation with obesity phenotypes.
• Early, multidisciplinary management strategies are essential for all obesity phenotypes to mitigate future cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.