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Childhood obesity affected cardiac geometry, function
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Childhood obesity may be associated with significant changes in myocardial geometry and function.
Researchers performed a standard 2-D echocardiography and 2-D speckle tracking analysis and assessed blood chemistry including lipid and glucose metabolism in 61 obese, white children (mean age, 13.5 years) and 40 nonobese children (mean age, 14.1 years).
Compared with nonobese children, obese children had increased BP (P<.01), LDL (P<.01) and parameters of glucose metabolism (P=.047 for fasting glucose; P<.001 for other parameters), and decreased HDL (P=.02).
In addition, obese children had enlarged left- and right-sided cardiac chambers (P<.001), thicker left ventricular walls (P<.001) and increased LV mass (P<.001) compared with nonobese children. Diastolic function also was impaired in children who were obese.
Although the groups had comparable left ventricular ejection fraction, obese children had decreased tissue Doppler-derived peak systolic velocity (P<.001) and regional basoseptal strain (P<.001) compared with nonobese children. The researchers also observed significantly reduced 2-D speckle tracking-derived longitudinal and circumferential strain of the left ventricle in obese children. Additionally, they found that longitudinal and circumferential LV strain were independently associated with obesity.
Norman Mangner
“The results of the present study demonstrate that childhood obesity is independently associated with significant changes in myocardial structure and function, indicating an early onset of potentially unfavorable alterations in the myocardium,” Norman Mangner, MD, from the University of Leipzig, Heart Center Leipzig, department of internal medicine/cardiology, Leipzig, Germany, and colleagues wrote.
Disclosure: The study was supported by grants from the German Research Foundation. One researcher reports financial ties with Boston Scientific, Claret Medical, Edwards Lifesciences, Medtronic and St. Jude Medical.
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