The objective of the present study was to investigate the associations of pericardial adipose tissue (PAT), measured by computed tomography (CT), with measures of total and abdominal adiposity as well as cardiometabolic risk factors and artery calcification in African American subjects. For that purpose, a subsample of 1,414 African Americans (35% men; aged 58±11 years) who participated in the Jackson Heart Study (JHS) constituted the study cohort. The data showed that PAT was significantly associated with cardiometabolic risk factors, but the associations were either attenuated or lost when adjustment for body mass index (BMI) or intra-abdominal (visceral) adipose tissue were performed. In contrast, PAT was strongly associated with coronary artery calcium (CAC) but not with abdominal aortic calcium (AAC) even after controlling for relevant cardiovascular disease risk factors. Thus, these findings indicate that PAT is related to an adverse cardiometabolic risk profile but not independent of intra-abdominal adiposity. However, PAT may have adverse local effects on the coronary vasculature as represented by the significant and independent association of PAT with CAC.
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