Gender disparity impact on the vascular calcification and pericardial fat volume in patients with suspected coronary artery disease

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BackgroundThere is no consensus in the literature on the influence of gender on the correlations between coronary artery calcification (CAC) with aortic root calcification (ARC) and pericardial fat volume (PFV). ObjectiveTo investigate the impact of gender on the correlations between PFV, CAC and ARC in Iraqi patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) assessed by multi-detector CT (MDCT). MethodsOne hundred and thirty consecutive Iraqi patients with intermediate pretest probability of ischemic heart disease who underwent MDCT examination for assessment of CAD were recruited between January and December 2014. Of these, 111 patients were found to be eligible and were enrolled in the study. Patients were divided into a male group (n=54) and a female group (n=57). ResultsIn male patients, PFV showed no significant correlation with CAC and ARC. CAC showed a significant correlation with ARC (r=0.392, P=0.003). The correlation between CAC and ARC persisted even after adjustment for PFV, age and cardiac risk factors (P=0.01, CI=0.067–0.492). In female patients, PFV showed a significant correlation with CAC (r=0.413, P=0.001) and this correlation persisted even after multivariate regression adjustment for ARC, age and cardiac risk factors (P=0.016, CI=0.067–0.612) while there was no significant correlation between PFV and ARC. ARC showed no significant correlation with CAC and PFV. ARC showed a significant association with male gender (P=0.04) while there was no significant difference in PFV and CAC between the two groups of study. ConclusionPFV was significantly associated with CAC in female patients while ARC showed a significant association with CAC in male patients.