Summaries of Must-Read Clinical Literature, Guidelines, and FDA Actions

Fat Volume and Atrial Fibrillation Link Evaluated

Obesity; ePub 2017 Apr 28; Heckbert, et al

Publish date:: May 5, 2017

A higher amount of pericardial fat volume is linked with incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in Hispanics, according to an analysis involving nearly 8,000 individuals.

Participants included blacks, whites, Hispanics, and Chinese Americans from the Multiethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Jackson Heart Study. Investigators looked at pericardial fat volume and development of AF. Among the results:

There were 75 cases of AF.
After adjustment for certain variables, Hispanics with higher pericardial fat volume were 24% more likely to develop AF.
There was no difference when the ethnic groups were analyzed together.
Pericardial fat volume partially mediated the link of BMI with AF incidence in Hispanics.

Citation:

Heckbert S, Wiggins K, Blackshear C, et al. Pericardial fat volume and incident atrial fibrillation in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Jackson Heart Study. Obesity. [Published online ahead of print April 28, 2017]. doi:10.1002/oby.21835.

This Week's Must Reads

Higher dose maximizes effects of magnesium sulfate for obese women,

Microplastics permeate human placentas,

One in five gestational carriers do not meet ASRM criteria,

Gender surgical outcomes differ following puberty suppression,

COVID-19 vaccine found effective but doctors watching for reactions, adverse events,

Must Reads in Obesity

Higher dose maximizes effects of magnesium sulfate for obese women,

Endoscopic intragastric balloon improved NASH parameters,

Autologous fecal microbiota transplantation helped maintain weight loss after ‘green’ Mediterranean diet,

Obesity phenotyping matches patients with more effective interventions,

Bariatric surgery linked to longer life,