Morphometric measurements of systemic atherosclerosis and visceral fat: Evidence from an autopsy study

Author(s):Show less -

Nishizawa, Aline ^{[1, 2]} ; Suemoto, Claudia K. ^{[1, 3, 2]} ; Farias-Itao, Daniela S. ^{[1, 2]} ; Campos, Fernanda M. ^[2] ; Silva, Karen C. S. ^{[1, 2]} ; Bittencourt, Marcio S. ^{[4, 5, 6, 7]} ; Grinberg, Lea T. ^{[8, 1, 9]} ; Leite, Renata E. P. ^{[1, 3]} ; Ferretti-Rebustini, Renata E. L. ^{[1, 10]} ; Farfel, Jose M. ^{[1, 3]} ; Jacob-Filho, Wilson ^{[1, 3]} ; Pasqualucci, Carlos A. ^{[1, 2, 9]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Pathophysiol Aging Lab, Brazilian Aging Brain Study Grp LIM 22, Med Sch, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Lab Cardiovasc Pathol LIM 22, Dept Pathol, Med Sch, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Discipline Geriatr, Med Sch, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[4] Univ Sao Paulo, Div Internal Med, Univ Hosp, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[5] Univ Sao Paulo, State Sao Paulo Canc Inst ICESP, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[6] Hosp Israelita Albert Einstein, Prevent Med Ctr, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[7] Fac Israelita Ciencia Saude Albert Einstein, Sch Med, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[8] Univ Calif San Francisco, Dept Neurol, Memory & Aging Ctr, San Francisco, CA 94143 - USA

^[9] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Pathol, Med Sch, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[10] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Med Surg Nursing, Nursing Sch, Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: PLoS One; v. 12, n. 10 OCT 16 2017.
• Web of Science Citations: 1

Abstract

Background Morphometric measurements of systemic atherosclerosis and direct quantification of visceral fat are only possible using materials from autopsy studies. However, the few autopsy studies that have investigated the association of visceral fat with atherosclerosis had small sample sizes and focused on coronary arteries of young or middle-aged White subjects. We aimed to investigate the association of pericardial fat (PF) and abdominal visceral fat (AVF) with atherosclerosis in the aorta, coronary, carotid, and cerebral arteries in a large autopsy study. Materials and methods We evaluated deceased subjects aged 30 years or above. We dissected and weighted the PF and the AVF and evaluated the atherosclerotic burden in the aorta, as well as the carotid, coronary, and cerebral arteries using morphometric measurements. We also investigated the interaction of PF and AVF with age regarding the atherosclerotic burden. Results The mean age of the 240 included subjects was 64.8 +/- 15.3 years, and 63% was male. Greater PF was associated with a higher degree of aortic atherosclerosis after adjusting for confounding variables (coefficient = 4.39, 95% CI = 0.83; 7.94, p = 0.02). Greater AVF was associated with a higher coronary stenosis index (coefficient = 1.49, 95% CI = 0.15; 2.83, p = 0.03) and a greater number of coronary plaques (coefficient = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.24; 1.19, p = 0.003). We did not find an association of PF or AVF with carotid or cerebral atherosclerotic burden. We found a significant interaction of AVF (coefficient = -0.08; 95% CI = -0.14; -0.02, p = 0.009) and PF (coefficient = -0.87, 95% CI = -1.70; -0.04, p = 0.04) with age regarding carotid artery atherosclerotic burden. Conclusions Greater AVF was associated with greater atherosclerotic burden and extent in coronary arteries, while greater PF correlated with a higher degree of atherosclerosis in the aorta. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/12290-3 - ASSOCIATION BETWEEN EPICARDIAL ADIPOSE TISSUE INFLAMMATION AND CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE: A CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL STUDY
• Grantee: Daniela Souza Farias Itao
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master