Intima-Media Thickness in Severe Obesity: Links with BMI and metabolic status but not with systemic or adipose tissue inflammation

OBJECTIVE: Obesity is associated with cardiovascular risk and a low-grade inflammatory state in both blood and adipose tissue (AT). Whether inflammation contributes to vascular alteration remains an open question. To test this hypothesis, we measured arterial intima-media thickness (IMT), which reflects subclinical atherosclerosis, in severely obese subjects and explored associations with systemic inflammation and AT inflammation. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: IMT of the carotid artery (C-IMT) and IMT of the femoral artery (F-IMT) were measured in 132 nonobese (control) subjects (BMI 22.3 kg/m(2); mean age 44.8 years) and 232 subjects who were severely obese without diabetes (OB/ND; n = 146; BMI 48.3 kg/m(2); age 38.2 years) or severely obese with type 2 diabetes (OB/D; n = 86; BMI 47.0; age 49.4 years). In 57 OB/ND subjects, circulating soluble E-selectin, matrix metalloproteinase 9, myeloperoxidase, soluble intracellular adhesion molecule 1, soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1, tissue plasminogen activator inhibitor 1, cystatin C, cathepsin S, and soluble CD14 were measured in serum. AT macrophages were quantified by CD68 immunochemistry. RESULTS: Both C-IMT and F-IMT increased in OB/ND and OB/D patients. In OB/ND patients, age was the sole independent determinant of IMT. No significant association was found with circulating inflammation-related molecules, number of CD68(+) cells, or the presence of crown-like structures in visceral or subcutaneous AT of OB/ND patients. CONCLUSIONS: IMT increased with severe obesity but was not influenced by the degree of systemic inflammation or AT macrophage accumulation.