ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The Finnish Diabetes Risk Score (FINDRISC) is a tool to predict 10-year risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and visceral adiposity is associated with higher cardio-metabolic risk. The objective of the study was to assess the relationship of epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) thickness with T2DM risk according to the FINDRISC tool. METHODS: The study was conducted in Ciudad Bolívar, Venezuela, and included 55 subjects of whom 37 (67.3%) were women and 18 (32.7%) men with ages between 18 and 75 years. A record was made of weight, height, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), fasting glucose, baseline insulin, plasma lipids, Homeostasis Model Assessment-Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR), and EAT thickness. The FINDRISC tool, with WC cut-off points modified for Latin America (LA-FINDRISC) was used. RESULTS: BMI, WC, plasma insulin concentration, HOMA-IR index, and EAT thickness were higher (P<0.0001) in the high-risk group compared to subjects in the low-moderate risk group according to the LA-FINDRISC. LA-FINDRISC was positively correlated with BMI (r=0.513; P=0.0001), WC (r=0.524; P=0.0001), fasting blood glucose (r=0.396; P=0.003); baseline plasma insulin (r=0.483; P=0.0001); HOMA-IR index (r=0.545; P=.0.0001); and EAT thickness (r=0.702; P=0.0001). The multivariate regression analysis showed that fasting blood glucose (P=0.023) and EAT thickness (P=0.007) remained independently associated with high T2DM risk. CONCLUSIONS: LA-FINDRISC was associated with EAT thickness and insulin resistance markers. Both were independently and directly associated with high risk for diabetes in the LA-FINDRISC category.