Is cardiotrophin-1 a new risk factor of atrial fibrillation in patients with visceral obesity and metabolic syndrome?

Objective. To determine the concentration of cardiotrophin-1 (CT-1) in patients with metabolic syndrome (MS) and atrial fibrillation (AF) and the relationship with the parameters of obesity and metabolic disorders.

Design and methods. In the one-stage case-control study, 352 subjects (35-65 years old) were included: patients with MS (n = 223), among them 107 patients had AF, and two comparison groups consisted of patients with AF without MS (n = 69) and otherwise healthy individuals (n = 60).

Results. The serum concentration of CT-1 in patients with AF and MS is higher compared to patients with MS without AF (851,2 (589,1-1146,3) and 590,2 (480,1-922,3) pg/ml, p = 0,005) and healthy subjects (851,2 (589,1-1146,3) and 410,1 (290,2-549,2) pg/ml, p < 0,0001). Patients with AF and MS showed higher serum levels of CT-1 than patients with AF without MS (851,2 (589,1-1146,3) and 681,1 (480,1-823,2) pg/ml, p = 0,004). CT-1 positively correlated with plasma levels of glucose (p = 0,423, p = 0,002) and triglycerides (p = 0,207, p = 0,003), as well as with the waist circumference (p = 0,265, p < 0,001) and the thickness of epicardial fat (p = 0,351, p < 0,001). ROC-analysis demonstrated the increase in serum CT-1 level above 638,1 pg/ml the probability of AF increased by 4 times (odds ratio = 4,0, 95 % confidence interval 2,31-6,94, p < 0,0001).

Conclusions. The increase in serum CT-1 concentration is associated with heart remodeling and obesity in patients with MS and probably plays a pathogenetic role in increasing the risk of AF in this cohort of patients.

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