Epicardial Fat Thickness Correlates with the Triglyceride Glucose Index, But Not with Visceral Adiposity Index in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome

Introduction: Epicardial fat is true visceral fat deposited around the heart. Visceral fat is the main risk factor for the development of the metabolic syndrome. Transthoracic echocardiography provides a reliable measurement of EFT. Visceral adiposity index (VAI) has been associated with cardiovascular risk. Triglyceride and glucose index (TGI) is a validated marker of insulin resistance. This study aims to evaluate the relationship of EFT with VAI and TGI in patients with metabolic syndrome.Methods: We assessed 123 patients with metabolic syndrome who underwent echocardiography; EFT was measured with an Aloka alfa 6 equipment; by 2 cardiologists who were unaware of the clinical data. Also, glycemia, lipid profile, and serum uric acid were measured in all patients. In all of them, ITG and VAI were calculated. Statistical analysis was performed with the Pearson coefficient test.Results: We did not find a positive any correlation between EFT with VAI (r= 0.152, p= 0.93). However, we found a significant positive correlation between EFT with TGI (r= 0.388, p=0.0001).Conclusions: Our results agree with those reports that have shown that triglycerides are useful tools in the evaluation of risk for the development of metabolic complications.