The Association between Three-Dimensional Pericardial Adiposity Measures, Life Quality Scores and Physical Functional Status beyond Anthropometrics in Men

Abstract Background: Previous studies demonstrated visceral adiposity in relation to metabolic disorder may mediate systemic inflammation and predict cardiovascular outcomes. However, data regarding visceral adipose tissue burden and quality of life or physical performance remains largely unknown. Methods: We studied participants who underwent non-contrast enhanced 16-slice multi-detector cardiac Computed Tomography (CT) scanning for cardiovascular health survey. ThreeDimensional (3D) visceral adipose volumes, including both Pericardial Fat (PCF) and Thoracic Peri-Aortic Fat (TPAF), were obtained. We further related these measures to high sensitivity CReactive Protein (hs-CRP) levels and questionnaires regarding life quality and physical performance assessments (SF-36). Results: Among 306 men (mean age: 49.4 ± 7.6 years) in our study, we observed that items of decreased physical functioning scoring were significantly associated with both increased PCF (βcoefficient: −4.20, P = 0.010) and TPAF (β-coefficient: −2.86, P =0.036). Interestingly, these associations remained unchanged even after adjusting for clinical variables and hs-CRP (both p<0.05). Conclusion: Increased pericardial and thoracic aortic fat burden may play a role via multiple potential mechanisms in worsening physical function, which may be less relevant to common cardiovascular disease pathophysiologies related to systemic inflammation.