Epicardial adipose tissue thickness in systemic sclerosis patients without overt cardiac disease

AbstractSystemic sclerosis is associated with an increased prevalence/incidence of coronary artery disease. The aim of this study was to investigate epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) thickness which may contribute to cardio-metabolic risk in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients without overt cardiac disease. EAT thickness was measured by transthoracic conventional Doppler echocardiography and compared in SSc patients (n = 47) and age- and sex-matched healthy controls (n = 36). The relationships between EAT thickness and markers of cardio-metabolic risk in SSc were examined. EAT thickness was significantly greater in patients with SSc compared to healthy controls (6 [7–5] vs 5 [6.75–3.25],p  =  0.041). Compared to controls, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), leukocyte, neutrophil, B-type natriuretic protein (BNP), fasting plasma insulin and HOMA-IR were elevated (18 [31–10] vs 8.5 [18–4],p  <  0.001; 0.4 [0.67–0.18] vs 0.21 [0.48–0.09],p  =  0.012; 7510 [8731–5990] vs 6435 [7360–5195],p  =  0.002; 4350 [5440–3570] vs 3390 [4168–2903],p  <  0.001; 111 [185–74] vs 70 [127–70],p  =  0.010; 6.7 [10.5–4.7] vs 4.7 [6.8–4.1],p  =  0.008; 1.7 [2.6–1] vs 1.1 [1.7–0.9],p  =  0.015, respectively). The total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol were decreased in SSc patients (197 ± 45 vs 284 ± 36,p  =  0.005; 118 [148–84] vs 140 [180–115],p  =  0.003, respec...
Source: Rheumatology International - Category: Rheumatology Source Type: research