Increased epicardial fat tissue is a marker of metabolic syndrome in adult patients

Background: Human epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is a type of visceral adipose tissue functioning as a metabolically active endocrine organ by secreting several hormones and adipocytokines. In this study, we aimed to assess the relationship between EAT measured by dual source multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) and the presence and components of metabolic syndrome (MS). Methods: A total of 83 patients (43.4% male, mean age 56.1 +/- 11.9) who underwent MDCT for suspected coronary artery disease were enrolled in this study. Thickness of the EAT was measured on contrast enhanced multiplanar reformat images with parasternal short axis view at basal, mid-ventricular and apical levels and horizontal long axis view. Results: The mean EAT thickness was significantly increased in patients with MS compared to those without MS (8.49 +/- 1.43 mm vs 7.39 +/- 2.10 mm, p<0.001). Additionally there was a graded relationship between increasing number of MS components and mean total EAT and pericoronary fat thickness (p<0.05). Simple regression analysis revealed that the presence of MS, age and body mass index (BMI) were correlated with mean EAT thickness (r=0.398, r=0.376 and r=0.371 respectively, p<0.001). Multiple regression analysis revealed that the presence of MS, age and BMI were the strongest independent variables related to EAT. Conclusion: In this study we demonstrated that EAT and pericoronary fat thickness were associated with the presence of MS. Those findings may implicate that, EAT and pericoronary fat may be a novel and useful indicator for MS. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.