Sex differences in subclinical cardiac disease in overweight and obesity (the FATCOR study)

Abstract Background and aims Subclinical cardiac disease, like abnormal left ventricular (LV) geometry or left atrial (LA) dilatation, is common in obesity. Less is known about sex differences in the prevalence and type of subclinical cardiac disease in obesity. Methods and results Clinical and echocardiographic data from 581 women and men without established cardiovascular disease and body mass index (BMI) > 27.0 kg/m 2 participating in the FAT associated CardiOvasculaR dysfunction (FATCOR) study was analyzed. LA dilatation was recognized as LA volume indexed for height 2 ≥16.5 ml/m 2 in women and ≥18.5 ml/m 2 in men, and abnormal LV geometry as LV hypertrophy and/or increased relative wall thickness. On average, the participants were 48 years old, 60% women and mean BMI was 32.1 kg/m 2 . Overall, the prevalence of subclinical cardiac disease was higher in women than men (77% vs. 62%, p  Conclusion The majority of overweight and obese participants in the FATCOR study had subclinical cardiac disease, which may contribute to the impaired prognosis observed in obesity. Women had a higher prevalence of subclinical cardiac disease than men. Clinical trial registration URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT02805478 .