Myocardial Integrated Backscatter in Obese Adolescents: Associations with Measures of Adiposity and Left Ventricular Deformation
Abstract
Background Myocardial fibrosis has been proposed to play an important pathogenetic role in left ventricular (LV) dysfunction in obesity. This study tested the hypothesis that calibrated integrated backscatter (cIB) as a marker of myocardial fibrosis is altered in obese adolescents and explored its associations with adiposity, LV myocardial deformation, and metabolic parameters. Methods/Principal Findings Fifty-two obese adolescents and 38 non-obese controls were studied with conventional and speckle tracking echocardiography. The average cIB of ventricular septum and LV posterior wall was measured. In obese subjects, insulin resistance as estimated by homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR) and glucose tolerance were determined. Compared with controls, obese subjects had significantly greater cIB of ventricular septum (-16.8±7.8 dB vs -23.2±7.8 dB, p<0.001), LV posterior wall (-20.5±5.6 dBvs -25.0±5.1 dB, p<0.001) and their average (-18.7±5.7 dB vs -24.1±5.0 dB, p<0.001). For myocardial deformation, obese subjects had significantly reduced LV longitudinal systolic strain rate (SR) (p = 0.045) and early diastolic SR (p = 0.015), and LV circumferential systolic strain (p = 0.008), but greater LV longitudinal late diastolic SR (p<0.001), and radial early (p = 0.037) and late (p = 0.002) diastolic SR than controls. For the entire cohort, myocardial cIB correlated positively with body mass index (r = 0.45, p<0.001) and waist circumference (r = 0.45, p<0.001), but negatively with…
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Evidence Hub reads this as a cohort study, done in people. Its evidence level is 3 of 5 (Moderate · trial / cohort / secondary analysis). Trials without a large randomized design, cohorts and secondary analyses give moderate evidence.
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