ABSTRACT
Objective: In the present study, we aimed to compare the amount of epicardial adipose tissue in subjects with and without xanthelasma
Subjects and Methods:Fifty-two subjects with xanthelasma and 52 age- and gender-matched control subjects were enrolled in this study. Epicardial adipose tissue was assessed by measuring epicardial fat thickness [EFT] with echocardiography. Participants were dichotomized according to median EFT, which was 4 mm. The group with EFT >4 mm was defined as the supramedian group. Body mass index [BMI] was calculated by weight [kilograms] divided by height [meters] squared. Conditional logistic regression analysis was performed to find independent factors associated with supramedian EFT [>4 mm]
Results: Subjects with xanthelasma had higher BMI [31.2 +/- 5.6 vs. 28.6 +/- 5.7, p = 0.01] and higher levels of total cholesterol [216 +/- 54 vs. 181 +/- 42 mg/dl, p < 0.001], LDL cholesterol [142 +/- 45 vs. 115 +/- 36 mg/dl, p = 0.003] and triglycerides [median, 154 vs. 101 mg/dl, p = 0.01] than control subjects. EFT was significantly higher in subjects with xanthelasma than in controls [5.04 +/- 2.02 vs. 3.81 +/- 2.03 mm, p = 0.002]. In the conditional logistic regression analysis, the presence of xanthelasma [OR, 3.55; 95% CI, 1.43-8.78, p = 0.006] and lower HDL cholesterol level [OR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.92-0.99, p = 0.023] were independently associated with supramedian EFT
Conclusion:The amount of epicardial adipose tissue found in subjects with xanthelasma was higher than in subjects without xanthelasma. In addition, the presence of xanthelasma was independently associated with supramedian EFT