Cardio-oncology & otherCohort study
Cardiovascular Significance and Genetics of Epicardial and Pericardial Adiposity
- Cohort study with genome-wide association study
- deep learning MRI quantification
- cross-sectional and prospective analyses
- polygenic score in independent cohort
- Visceral adipose tissue (VAT)-adjusted prospective analyses in 38 527 participants
Authors' conclusion
Results of this cohort study suggest that epicardial and pericardial adiposity was associated with incident cardiovascular diseases, but this may largely reflect a metabolically unhealthy adiposity phenotype similar to abdominal visceral adiposity.
Study context
- Population
- UK Biobank participants with cardiac MRI; Polygenic score (PGS) examined in FinnGenUK Biobank
- Participants
- 44,475 participants
- Exposure
- Per 1 SD higher epicardial and pericardial adipose tissue (EPAT) area
- Outcome
- Prevalent and incident CAD, AF, HF, stroke and T2DM
- Follow-up
- Mean (SD) 3.2 (1.5) years
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Incident disease per +1 SD in EPAT
EPAT +1 SDHazard ratio (95% CI)
incident HF
1.29(1.17–1.43)
incident T2DM
1.63(1.51–1.76)
incident CAD
1.19(1.11–1.28)
Per +1 SD in EPAT, as printed
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | OR (95% CI) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| EPAT PGS in FinnGen, per 1 SD in PGS — EPAT PGS +1 SD · T2DM | 1.06 (1.05–1.07) | P = 3.6 × 10-44 | |
| EPAT PGS in FinnGen, per 1 SD in PGS — EPAT PGS +1 SD · HF | 1.05 (1.04–1.06) | P = 4.8 × 10-15 | |
| EPAT PGS in FinnGen, per 1 SD in PGS — EPAT PGS +1 SD · CAD | 1.04 (1.03–1.05) | P = 1.4 × 10-17 | |
| EPAT PGS in FinnGen, per 1 SD in PGS — EPAT PGS +1 SD · AF | 1.04 (1.03–1.06) | P = 7.6 × 10-12 | |
| EPAT PGS in FinnGen, per 1 SD in PGS — EPAT PGS +1 SD · stroke | 1.02 (1.01–1.03) | P = 3.5 × 10-3 | |
| 0.512Odds ratio (log scale) |
- EPAT PGS in FinnGen, per 1 SD in PGS: 453 733 FinnGen participants
EPAT elevation in prevalent disease
- Prevalent heart failure (HF)
- β = +0.46 SD units
- Prevalent T2DM
- β = +0.56
- Prevalent coronary artery disease (CAD)
- β = +0.23
- Prevalent AF
- β = +0.18
EPAT correlates
- Male sex
- β = +0.78 SD in EPAT; P < 3 × 10-324
- Age
- Pearson r = 0.15; P = 9.3 × 10-229
- BMI
- Pearson r = 0.47; P < 3 × 10-324
- VAT
- Pearson r = 0.72; P < 3 × 10-324
Genetics of EPAT
- Genetic loci identified
- 7
- EBF1, EBF2, CEBPA, WARS2, TRIB2
Original publication
Cardiovascular Significance and Genetics of Epicardial and Pericardial Adiposity. JAMA Cardiol. Published 1 May 2024. doi:10.1001/jamacardio.2024.0080
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it