Correlation of visceral fat distribution and carotid artery elasticity in severely abdominal obese children by RF-data based quantitative analysis on vessel stiffness / 中华超声影像学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To evaluate the carotid artery elasticity in severely abdominal obese children by RF-data based quantitative analysis on vessel stiffness (R-VQS), and explore the correlation between visceral fat distribution and carotid artery elasticity.Methods:Seventy severely abdominal obese children aged 7-14 years old and 55 healthy children with normal body mass index were selected as obese group and control group in Children′s Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University from July 2018 to July 2019. Epicardial fat thickness (EFT), visceral fat thickness (VFT), subcutaneous fat thickness (SFT), maximum preperitoneal fat thickness (PFTmax), minimum subcutaneous fat thickness (SFTmin), perirenal fat thickness (PRFT) were measured by ultrasound. Real-time intima-media thickness (RIMT) and R-VQS were employed to evaluate common carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), systolic diameter (Diam), distance (Dist), pulse wave velocity (PWV) and hardness coefficient (HC). The correlation between fat thickness and carotid artery elasticity was analyzed.Results:There were statistically differences of common carotid IMT, elasticity parameters (IMT, Diam, Dist, PWV, HC) and fat thickness (EFT, VFT, SFT, PFTmax, SFTmin, PRFT) between two groups ( P<0.05). In obese children, PFTmax, VFT, EFT, PRFT were positively correlated with IMT, PWV, and HC (with IMT r=0.334, 0.425, 0.415, 0.370, P<0.05; with PWV r=0.853, 0.744, 0.590, 0.358, P<0.05; with HC r=0.822, 0.691, 0.526, 0.320, P<0.05), and there was no correlation between SFT, SFTmin and IMT, PWV, HC( P>0.05). The degree of correlations between visceral fat thickness and carotid artery elasticity was PFTmax>VFT>EFT>PRFT, however, the correlations between EFT, PRFT and carotid elastic elasticity were weak ( r<0.7). Conclusions:R-VQS can sensitively reflect the carotid artery elasticity in severely abdominal obese children, and it can be used as an important reference indicator for early evaluation of atherosclerosis in obese children. Their visceral fat thickness (EFT, PRFT, VFT and PFTmax) have a good correlation with carotid artery elasticity, among which PFTmax has the best correlation and shows a certain clinical significance for the treatment and follow-up of obese children.