Background: Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) has anatomic and functional proximity to the heart and is considered a novel diagnostic marker and therapeutic target in cardiometabolic diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether EAT volume was associated with coronary artery calcification (CAC) in people living with diabetes, independently of confounding factors.
Methods: We included all consecutive patients with diabetes whose EAT volume and CAC score were measured using computed tomography between January 1, 2019 and September 30, 2020 in the Department of Diabetology-Endocrinology-Nutrition at Avicenne Hospital, France. Determinants of EAT volume and a CAC score ≥ 100 Agatston units (AU) were evaluated.
Results: The study population comprised 409 patients (218 men). Mean (± standard deviation) age was 57 ± 12 years, and 318, 56 and 35 had type 2 (T2D), type 1 (T1D), or another type of diabetes, respectively. Mean body mass index (BMI) was 29 ± 6 kg/m2, mean AET volume 93 ± 38 cm3. EAT volume was positively correlated with age, BMI, pack-year smoking history and triglyceridaemia, but negatively correlated with HDL-cholesterol level. Furthermore, it was lower in people with retinopathy, but higher in men, in Caucasian people, in patients on antihypertensive and lipid-lowering medication, in people with nephropathy, and finally in individuals with a CAC ≥ 100 AU (CAC < 100 vs CAC ≥ 100: 89 ± 35 vs 109 ± 41 cm3, respectively, p < 0.05). In addition to EAT volume, other determinants of CAC ≥ 100 AU (n = 89, 22%) were age, T2D, ethnicity, antihypertensive and lipid-lowering medication, cumulative tobacco consumption, retinopathy, macular edema and macrovascular disease. Multivariable analysis considering all these determinants as well as gender and BMI showed that EAT volume was independently associated with CAC ≥ 100 AU (per 10 cm3 increase: OR 1.11 [1.02-1.20]).
Conclusions: EAT volume was independently associated with CAC. As it may play a role in coronary atherosclerosis in patients with diabetes, reducing EAT volume through physical exercise, improved diet and pharmaceutical interventions may improve future cardiovascular risk outcomes in this population.
Keywords: Computed tomography; Coronary artery calcification; Diabetes; Epicardial adipose tissue; Epicardial fat tissue; Metabolic syndrome; Visceral fat.