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Background: Impaired lung function has been linked to obesity and systemic inflammation. Pericardial fat has been shown to be associated with anomalies in cardiac structure, function, and atherosclerosis. We hypothesized that pericardial fat may have a similar role in the impairment of lung function.Methods: Cross-sectional associations of pericardial fat volumes, quantified by multidetector CT scan, with FEV(1) and FVC assessed by spirometry, were investigated in 1,293 participants (54.5 ± 10.8 years; 66.4% women) in the Jackson Heart Study. We also examined whether these associations were independent of visceral adipose tissue (VAT).Results: Pericardial fat was associated with impaired lung function after multivariable adjustment, but these associations generally did not remain after adjustment for VAT. An exception was the FEV(1)/FVC ratio. Higher pericardial fat volumes were associated with higher odds of a restrictive lung pattern and lower odds of airway obstruction. Participants in the highest quartile had the highest odds of a restrictive lung pattern (OR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.22-2.79, compared with quartile 1), even after adjustment for VAT. The odds of obstruction decreased across increasing quartiles of pericardial fat. These relationships were generally graded, suggesting dose-response trends.Conclusions: Pericardial fat is generally associated with lower lung function and independently associated with a restrictive lung pattern in middle-aged and elderly adults. Further research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms through which pericardial fat contributes to pulmonary anomalies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Pericardial adipose tissue (PAT), a regional fat depot adjacent to the myocardium, may mediate the complex relation between obesity and cardiac left ventricular (LV) abnormalities. We sought to evaluate the association of PAT with echocardiographic measures of LV abnormalities in the Jackson Heart Study (JHS).Research Design and Methods: A total of 1,414 African Americans (35% men; mean age 58 years) from the JHS underwent computed tomographic assessment of PAT and abdominal visceral adipose tissue (VAT) from 2007 to 2009 and echocardiography examination between 2000 and 2004. Echocardiographic measures of left atrial (LA) internal diameter, LV mass, LV ejection fraction (LVEF), and E-wave velocity-to-A-wave velocity ratio (E/A ratio) were examined in relation to PAT, VAT, BMI, and waist circumference (WC).Results: All adiposity measures were positively correlated with LA diameter and LV mass and negatively correlated with E/A ratio (P = 0.02 to 0.0001) and were not with LVEF (P = 0.36-0.61). In women, per 1-SD increment of PAT, we observed association with higher LV mass (9.0 ± 1.7 gm, P = 0.0001) and LA diameter (1.0 ± 0.1 mm, P = 0.0001). However, the magnitude of the association between PAT and cardiac measures was similar compared with VAT (P = 0.65 [LV mass]; P = 0.26 [LA diameter]) and was smallercompared with BMI (P = 0.002 [LV mass]; P = 0.01 [LA diameter]) and WC (P = 0.009 [LA diameter]).Conclusions: PAT is correlated with echocardiographic measures of cardiac LV abnormalities, but the association is not stronger than other adiposity measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]