Background and aim: Left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy and diastolic function have been found to be associated with obesity and hypertension in adults. However, there are scarce data about the association of obesity itself to cardiac alteration in children. The aim of this study was to detect early changes in LV structure and function in obese children and whether they are associated with the biomarkers of metabolic risk and endothelial activation.
Methods and results: A total of 130 children aged 7-16 years (88 obese and 42 normal-weight children) were studied. All children had normal resting blood pressure. Two-dimensional ultrasound with M-mode imaging was performed to assess the LV mass index (LVMi), calculated as LV mass/height(2.7), and the peak diastolic of pulmonary venous flow velocity (PVFD). Tissue Doppler imaging was used to analyze ventricular performance through the ratio of the transmitral peak early filling velocity to the early average diastolic peak myocardial velocity (E/E'). The indicators of metabolic control, inflammation, and endothelial cell activation were evaluated. Compared to the controls, the obese subjects had significantly higher LVMi and E/E' and lower PVFD values, the two latest being found especially in severely obese subjects. In the multivariate analysis, the parameters of diastolic function (E/E' and PVFD) were independently associated with obesity, apolipoprotein A1, soluble vascular cell endothelial molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), and retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4).
Conclusion: An echocardiographic evaluation of diastolic function is a useful tool to detect early cardiac changes in obese children. Emergent cardiovascular risk markers such as apolipoprotein A1, RBP4, and sVCAM-1 are associated with the parameters of diastolic function.
Keywords: Diastolic function; Left ventricular hypertrophy; Left ventricular mass; Metabolic risk factors; Obesity.
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