Systematic review of epicardial adipose tissue in patients with obstructive sleep apnea

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Nov 20 2020

In a new publication from Cardiovascular Innovations and Applications, Bin Liu, Yingrui Li, Janlin Du, Qiang She and Songbai Deng from The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China consider epicardial adipose tissue in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) syndrome is a respiratory disorder characterized by repetitive episodes of upper airway obstruction caused by partial or complete collapse of the upper airway.

Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is a potential risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The authors of this article performed a meta-analysis to assess the association of EAT with OSA.

The authors assessed the association of EAT thickness (EAT-t) and EAT volume (EAT-v) with OSA by a meta-analysis. Ten studies were included in the final analysis. Compared with that in controls, EAT-t in OSA patients was significantly increased (standardized mean difference 0.88, 95% confidence interval 0.72-1.05, P=0.000).

Furthermore, EAT-t was greater in OSA patients than in controls with similar BMIs. However, the authors did not find significant differences in EAT-v between OSA patients and controls (standardized mean difference 2.46, 95% confidence interval −0.36 to 5.29, P=0.088).

EAT-t in the mild, moderate, and severe OSA subgroups was greater than in the controls. In addition, there were significant differences in EAT-t among the mild, moderate, and severe OSA subgroups.

EAT-t was greater in patients with OSA than in controls, and EAT-t was also associated with the severity of OSA. These findings may provide a new clue for the pathogenesis and treatment of OSA.