Investigation of the Relationship between Asthma and Visceral Obesity by Epicardial Fat Thickness Measurement

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Obesity is a risk factor defined in recent years for asthma. It is associated not only with asthma but also with many cardiovascular diseases. Visceral obesity is a more significant risk factor than general obesity in cardiovascular diseases. Although the association of visceral obesity with cardiovascular diseases is well known, the relationship in patients with asthma is not fully understood. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether there is a relationship between asthma and visceral fat by using epicardial fat thickness (EFT) measurement.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 401 subjects (229 patients with persistent asthma and 172 controls) were enrolled in the study. In our study, EFT was measured, recorded by echocardiography, and was evaluated whether there was a statistical significant difference between the two groups.

RESULTS: The mean EFT was 5.84 +/- 0.79 mm in the patient group and 5.71 +/- 0.93 mm in the control group. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups (p=0.145). Similarly, when we compared control and asthma severity subgroups, we did not find statistically significant differences (control group mean 5.71 +/- 0.93 mm, mild group mean 5.86 +/- 0.81 mm, moderate group mean 5.8 +/- 0.84 mm, and severe group mean 5.83 +/- 0.67 mm, p=0.505).

CONCLUSION: In the present study, we observed that the EFT did not increase in patients with asthma compared with the normal population. Based on our results, we suggest that visceral obesity may not be a significant risk factor for asthma.