Relationship Between Overweight and Obesity and Cardiac Dimensions and Function in a Paediatric Population.
Abstract Obesity in adults is associated with left ventricular hypertrophy, dilatation and myocardial fibrosis, as well as heart failure and coronary heart disease. These associations have been studied to a lesser extent in the paediatric population. This study aims to investigate the relationship between obesity and cardiac structure and function in the paediatric population. In a southern Spanish town, we selected all inhabitants aged 6–17 years stratifying by age, gender, and educational centres. We performed a complete transthoracic echocardiogram evaluating all the cardiac morphological and functional parameters commonly measured in an echocardiographic study. There were 212 children and adolescents included. Of them, 48,1 % were males. The mean age was 10.9 ± 3.0 years. 106 (50%) were normal weight, 57 (26.9%) overweight and 49 (23.1%) obese. Sex and age were similar in all three groups. Overweight and obesity were associated with larger left ventricular end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes (p < 0.0005), greater left ventricular mass (p < 0.0005) and smaller ejection fraction (p < 0.0005). They were also associated with larger atrial, aortic and right ventricular size. Lateral and mean E/e' ratios were higher (p = 0.007 and p = 0.01 respectively). Body mass index was independently associated with all cavity size variables as well as left ventricular ejection fraction. Conclusion: Childhood obesity is independently associated with larger heart chambers, greater left ventricle mass, and smaller left ventricle ejection fraction.