Influence of visceral adiposity on cardiovascular risk in patients with systemic sclerosis

• Published in: Rheumatology international Vol. 44; no. 4; pp. 621 - 630
• Main Authors: Martínez-Díaz, Gabriela, Cruz-Domínguez, María Pilar, López Zamora, Berenice, Ramirez-Facio, Jordan, Medina, Gabriela, Munguía-Cruz, Ricardo Xavier, Saavedra-Salinas, Miguel Angel, Arrucha-Cozaya, Michelle, Vera-Lastra, Olga Lidia, Peralta-Amaro, Ana Lilia, Florez-Durante, Óscar Iván, Gil-Galindo, Kybaná Aurora
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.04.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adiposity; Adult; Body Mass Index; Cardiovascular Diseases - epidemiology; Cardiovascular Diseases - etiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Heart Disease Risk Factors; Humans; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Obesity, Abdominal - complications; Observational Research; Rheumatology; Risk Factors; Scleroderma; Scleroderma, Systemic - complications; Visceral adipose tissue; Cardiometabolic risk factor; Systemic sclerosis; Body composition; Visceral adiposity index
• ISSN: 1437-160X; 0172-8172; 1437-160X
• DOI: 10.1007/s00296-023-05421-3

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease characterized by systemic inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, generalized fibrosis and high cardiovascular mortality. The evaluation of cardiovascular risk through the visceral adiposity index (VAI) has been helpful due to its direct relationship to the body and visceral fat percentage. We evaluated the influence of body composition and anthropometrics on cardiovascular risk as measured by VAI in healthy controls (HC) and SSc. An analytical cross-sectional study of 66 participants (33 SSc and 33 HC), mean age 52.7 ± 10, 95% women, was conducted from August 2020 to January 2021. Inclusion criteria in cases were consecutive patients with SSc (ACR/EULAR 2013), 63.6% were diffuse cutaneous (dcSS) subtype, and 36.4 were limited cutaneous (lcSS) subtype. HC was matched by age and gender. Serum lipid profiles and InBody anthropometrics were analyzed and compared. We performed descriptive statistics, bivariate analysis with Student’s t , or Mann–Whitney U , correlation and chi-square according to the variable type and distribution. Total cholesterol was significantly higher in SSc than HC (345 vs 194, p  = < 0.001). The BMI was higher in HC (26.2 vs 28.9, p  < 0.001). Kilograms of muscle (19.8 vs 28.9, p  < 0.001) and total fat (23.4 vs 28.9, p  < 0.001) were lower in SSc patients compared to HC. VAI was similar when BMI < 25, but significantly higher when BMI > 25 in SSc than in HC (3 vs 1.9, p  = 0.030). The increase in BMI at overweight or obese in SSc is associated with a significant increase in cardiovascular risk.