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Adiposity Contributes to Differences in Left Ventricular Structure and Diastolic Function with Age in Healthy Men

Department of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado (P.E.G., C.L.G., D.R.S., D.D.C.), Boulder, Colorado 80309; and Department of Medicine (Cardiology and Geriatric Medicine), University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (D.R.S.), Denver, Colorado 80262

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Phillip E. Gates, Ph.D., Human Cardiovascular Research Laboratory, Department of Integrative Physiology, 354 UCB, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309. E-mail: phillip.gates{at}colorado.edu.

We sought to examine the influence of adiposity in age-associated changes in the left ventricle (LV) in a cohort of 113 healthy men, aged 20–79 yr, by measuring LV structure and diastolic function (echocardiography), whole body composition, and regional adiposity (dual energy x-ray absorptiometry). Aging was associated with increased levels of adiposity, greater wall thickness to chamber radius ratio, LV concentric remodeling, and reduced LV diastolic function (all P < 0.05). Bivariate correlation analysis showed that mean LV wall thickness, a concentric LV morphology, and diastolic function were related to adiposity (r = -0.63 to 0.51; all P < 0.05). The relation between age and both mean LV wall thickness and concentric remodeling was reduced after controlling for percentage total body fat (by 38% and 54%, respectively), percentage abdominal fat (by 42% and 62%), and the abdominal/thigh fat ratio (by 35% and 46%). The diastolic function-age relation was reduced after controlling for percentage total body fat (by 35%), percentage abdominal fat (by 39%), and the abdominal/thigh fat ratio (by 29%). There were no apparent differences in the contribution of percentage total body fat, percentage abdominal fat, or abdominal/thigh fat to the association between age and LV structure/diastolic function. We conclude that increasing adiposity contributes to the LV remodeling/reduced diastolic function that occurs with aging in healthy men.

This work was supported by NIH Grants AG-16071, AG-06537, and AG-13038 (to D.R.S.); General Clinical Research Center Grant 5-01-RR-00051; and American Heart Association Award 02625451Z (to P.E.G.).

Abbreviations: CVD, Cardiovascular disease; DXA, dual energy x-ray absorptiometry; E:A, ratio of early (E) and late (A) diastolic peak filling velocity; FFM, fat-free mass; h:R, ratio of LV posterior wall thickness to chamber radius; LV, left ventricle; RAS, renin-angiotensin system.

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