Correlation between left ventricular mass and visceral fat thickness in obese women.

ABSTRACT

AIM: This study was aimed to measure left ventricular mass, which partly determines the function of the left ventricle, in obese women. METHODS: The total number of study subjects was 90, which consisted of 45 obese women (BMI >or= 25 Kg/m2) and 45 non-obese women (BMI < 25 Kg/m2) as control group. They were evaluated by M mode echocardiography and abdominal CT to measure visceral fat, blood pressure, insulin resistance and waist circumference. Correlation was assessed for both groups. RESULTS: There were significant differences in the left ventricular mass of the obese and non-obese group (P= 0.000), systolic blood pressure (P = 0.000), diastolic blood pressure (P = 0.006), waist circumference (P = 0.000), visceral fat (P = 0.000), and HOMA-IR (P = 0.000). With bivariant analysis, it is concluded that there are significant correlations between left ventricular mass and visceral fat (r = 0.67, P = 0.000); between BMI and left ventricular mass (r = 0.67, P = 0.000); between waist circumference and left ventricular mass (r = 0.72, P = 0.000); and also between HOMA-IR and left ventricular mass (r = 0.57, P = 0.000). CONCLUSION: There are significant correlations between increased left ventricular mass and visceral fat, BMI, waist circumference and HOMA-IR among Indonesian women. So far, this study has shown a correlation between obesity and high cardiovascular risk.