Association between adiposity and systemic atherosclerosis: a protocol of a cross-sectional autopsy study.
Adiposity has been associated with atherosclerosis in clinical studies. However, few autopsy studies have investigated this association, and they had only examined the coronary artery disease. Moreover, most studies had small sample sizes and were limited to middle-aged or young adults. Our aim is to investigate the association between adiposity and systemic atherosclerosis in an autopsy study.



A sample of 240 deceased with 30 years or more will be evaluated. The sample size was calculated using the lowest correlation coefficient found in previous studies (r=0.109), assuming a power of 90% and α=0.05. We will collect information about sociodemographics, frequency of previous contact of the deceased's next of kin and cardiovascular risk factors. We will measure neck, waist and hip circumferences, weight, height and abdominal subcutaneous tissue thickness, and then we will calculate the body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, waist-to-height ratio and body shape index. We will also weigh the pericardial and abdominal visceral fat, the heart, and we will measure the left ventricular wall thickness. We will evaluate the presence of myocardial infarction, the degree of atherosclerosis in the aorta, carotid, coronary and cerebral arteries and plaque composition in carotid, coronary and cerebral arteries. For each individual, we will fix arterial and adipose tissue samples in 10% formalin and freeze another adipose tissue sample at -80°C for future studies.



Ethical approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Brazil. Results will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
Laboratory of Cardiovascular Pathology (LIM-22), Department of Pathology, University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Pathophysiology in Aging Lab/Brazilian Aging Brain Study Group (LIM-22), University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Aline
A
Nishizawa
Laboratory of Cardiovascular Pathology (LIM-22), Department of Pathology, University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Pathophysiology in Aging Lab/Brazilian Aging Brain Study Group (LIM-22), University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Discipline of Geriatrics, University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Claudia Kimie
CK
Suemoto
Laboratory of Cardiovascular Pathology (LIM-22), Department of Pathology, University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Pathophysiology in Aging Lab/Brazilian Aging Brain Study Group (LIM-22), University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Daniela Souza
DS
Farias
Laboratory of Cardiovascular Pathology (LIM-22), Department of Pathology , University of Sao Paulo Medical School , Sao Paulo , Brazil.
Fernanda Marinho
FM
Campos
Laboratory of Cardiovascular Pathology (LIM-22), Department of Pathology, University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Pathophysiology in Aging Lab/Brazilian Aging Brain Study Group (LIM-22), University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Karen Cristina Souza
KC
da Silva
Laboratory of Cardiovascular Pathology (LIM-22), Department of Pathology, University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Pathophysiology in Aging Lab/Brazilian Aging Brain Study Group (LIM-22), University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Anderson
A
Cuelho
Pathophysiology in Aging Lab/Brazilian Aging Brain Study Group (LIM-22), University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Discipline of Geriatrics, University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Renata Elaine Paraízo
RE
Leite
Pathophysiology in Aging Lab/Brazilian Aging Brain Study Group (LIM-22), University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil; University of São Paulo School of Nursing, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Renata Eloah de Lucena
RE
Ferretti-Rebustini
Pathophysiology in Aging Lab/Brazilian Aging Brain Study Group (LIM-22), University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
Lea Tenenholz
LT
Grinberg
Pathophysiology in Aging Lab/Brazilian Aging Brain Study Group (LIM-22), University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Discipline of Geriatrics, University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
José Marcelo
JM
Farfel
Pathophysiology in Aging Lab/Brazilian Aging Brain Study Group (LIM-22), University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Discipline of Geriatrics, University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Wilson
W
Jacob-Filho
Laboratory of Cardiovascular Pathology (LIM-22), Department of Pathology, University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Pathophysiology in Aging Lab/Brazilian Aging Brain Study Group (LIM-22), University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Department of Pathology, University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Carlos Augusto
CA
Pasqualucci
ADIPOSITY; BODY MEASURES; CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE; VISCERAL FAT