Usefulness of the epicardial fat tissue thickness as a diagnostic criterion for geriatric patients with metabolic syndrome.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the epicardial fat tissue thickness (EFTT) as a diagnostic criterion for geriatric patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS).


METHODS
Sixty geriatric patients over 65 years of age were recruited for the study. Patients were divided into two groups: Group 1 (n = 30) consisted of patients with MetS; Group 2 (n = 30) consisted of patients without MetS. Echocardiography was used to measure EFTT in all patients, and blood samples were analyzed for biochemical parameters.


RESULTS
Compared to Group 2, EFTT levels of Group 1 were statistically higher (P < 0.05). In a binary logistic regression analysis, EFTT levels served as the independent factor for metabolic syndrome (B = 17.35, SE = 4.93, Wald = 12.36, P < 0.001). Receivers operating characteristic Curve (ROC-curve) analysis revealed that EFTT predicted MetS with 96.7% sensitivity and 86.7% specificity above the level of 7.3 mm [area under the curve = 0.969; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.928-1.00].


CONCLUSIONS
The present study demonstrated that serum EFTT levels were higher in geriatric patients with MetS and can therefore be used as a diagnostic criterion for MetS.
Department of Internal Medicine, Sanliurfa Training and Research Hospital, Sanliurfa, Turkey.
Berna
B
Kaya
Department of Cardiology, Sanliurfa Training and Research Hospital, Sanliurfa, Turkey.
Bedri Caner
BC
Kaya
Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Harran University, Sanliurfa, Turkey.
Emel Yigit
EY
Karakas
Department of Cardiology, Sanliurfa Training and Research Hospital, Sanliurfa, Turkey.
Sadettin Selcuk
SS
Baysal
Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Harran University, Sanliurfa, Turkey.
Dursun
D
Cadirci
Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, Harran University, Sanliurfa, Turkey.
Emre
E
Erkus
Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, Harran University, Sanliurfa, Turkey.
Ibrahim Halil
IH
Altiparmak
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Harran University, Sanliurfa, Turkey.
Emin
E
Savik
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Harran University, Sanliurfa, Turkey.
Hatice
H
Sezen
Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Harran University, Sanliurfa, Turkey.
Turgay
T
Ulas
Epicardial fat tissue thickness; Geriatrics; Metabolic syndrome