Epicardial adipose tissue volume and nephropathy in people living with type 2 diabetes: the Kidn-EAT study
8 affiliations
- 1Department of Endocrinology-Diabetology-Nutrition, Avicenne Hospital, AP-HP, CRNH-IdF, CSO Ile de France Nord, Sorbonne Paris Nord University, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 125 rue de Stalingrad, Bobigny, France
- 2INSERM, INRAE, CNAM, Center of Research in Epidemiology and StatisticS (CRESS), Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN), Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Université Paris Cité, 93017 Bobigny, France
- 3Clinical Research Unit, AP-HP, Avicenne Hospital, Bobigny, France
- 4Department of Radiology, AP-HP, Avicenne Hospital, Bobigny, France
- 5INSERM 1272, Sorbonne Paris Nord Paris University, 93009 Bobigny Cedex, France
- 6Biochemistry Department, Avicenne and Jean Verdier Hospitals, AP-HP, Sorbonne Paris Nord University, Bobigny, France
- 7UMR INSERM U1349 “Signalisation, Microenvironnement et Hémopathies Lymphoïdes, Sorbonne Paris Nord University, 93000 Bobigny, France
- 8Laboratoire Educations et Promotion de la Santé UR 3412, UFR Santé, Médecine, Biologie Humaine, Université Paris Sorbonne Paris Nord, 74, Rue Marcel Cachin, 93017 Bobigny Cedex, France
Abstract
Introduction: Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), a visceral adipose tissue located between the pericardium and the myocardium, has been linked to cardiac issues. The present study aimed to evaluate the association between EAT volume and the presence of nephropathy and its components, i.e. albuminuria/creatininuria ratio (ACR) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) classes, in patients living with type 2 diabetes (PwT2D).
Materials and methods: The present study is a cross-sectional analysis of a retrospective cohort of 700 PwT2D who had a computed tomography scan to measure both their coronary artery calcium score and EAT volume (proprietary prototype, GE HealthCare), and available data for both eGFR and ACR.
Results: A total of 700 PwT2D (332 women) were included, of whom 295 patients had nephropathy (42.1%), including 87 (12.4%) with eGFR < 60 ml/min/1.73m2 and 258 (36.9%) with ACR ≥ 3 mg/mmol. Mean age (± standard deviation) was 60.3 ± 10.4 years old and 44.8% had obesity. EAT volume was higher in patients with nephropathy compared to those without (respectively, 103.6 ± 39.8 versus 93.8 ± 36.8 cm3, p = 0.001). EAT volume differed across eGFR classes (≥ 60 versus < 60 mL/min/1.73m2): respectively 96.6 ± 38.1 and 107.7 ± 39.2 (p = 0.012) and ACR classes (< 3; between 3 and 29.9; ≥ 30 mg/mmol): respectively 94.7 ± 36.9, 106.0 ± 40.2, and 95.7 ± 39.8 cm3 (p = 0.004). EAT volume was weakly correlated to eGFR (r = -0.146; p < 0.001) and to ACR (r = 0.124; p = 0.001). After adjustment for major confounding factors, each 10 cm3 increase of EAT volume was associated with a 5.8% increase in the odds of nephropathy (OR = 1.058 [95% CI 1.007–1.112], p = 0.026) and a 5.9% increase in the odds of ACR ≥ 3 mg/mmol (OR = 1.059 [95% CI 1.008–1.114], p = 0.024), but not with eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73m2 (OR = 1.047 [95% CI 0.975–1.123], p = 0.204).
Conclusion: EAT volume was associated with nephropathy and especially with increased ACR in PwT2D. This association may be partly explained by metabolic and inflammatory mechanisms, potentially driven by EAT and/or other associated ectopic fat depots in PwT2D.
Graphical abstract:
Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12933-026-03311-z.
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BibTeX
@article{andrieu2026epicardial,
title = {{Epicardial adipose tissue volume and nephropathy in people living with type 2 diabetes: the Kidn-EAT study}},
author = {Anaïs Andrieu and Sopio Tatulashvili and Siwar Hammami and Mohamed Lamine Mariko and Imen Rezgani and Lucie Allard and Meriem Sal and Ines Barka and Mohamed Zerguine and Sébastien Homs and Pierre-Yves Brillet and Emmanuelle Fabre and Coralie Bloch-Queyrat and Hélène Bihan and Emmanuel Cosson},
journal = {Cardiovascular Diabetology},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1186/s12933-026-03311-z},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12933-026-03311-z},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Epicardial adipose tissue volume and nephropathy in people living with type 2 diabetes: the Kidn-EAT study
AU - Anaïs Andrieu
AU - Sopio Tatulashvili
AU - Siwar Hammami
AU - Mohamed Lamine Mariko
AU - Imen Rezgani
AU - Lucie Allard
AU - Meriem Sal
AU - Ines Barka
AU - Mohamed Zerguine
AU - Sébastien Homs
AU - Pierre-Yves Brillet
AU - Emmanuelle Fabre
AU - Coralie Bloch-Queyrat
AU - Hélène Bihan
AU - Emmanuel Cosson
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/30
JO - Cardiovascular Diabetology
DO - 10.1186/s12933-026-03311-z
UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12933-026-03311-z
AB - Introduction: Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), a visceral adipose tissue located between the pericardium and the myocardium, has been linked to cardiac issues. The present study aimed to evaluate the association between EAT volume and the presence of nephropathy and its components, i.e. albuminuria/creatininuria ratio (ACR) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) classes, in patients living with type 2 diabetes (PwT2D). Materials and methods: The present study is a cross-sectional analysis of a retrospective cohort of 700 PwT2D who had a computed tomography scan to measure both their coronary artery calcium score and EAT volume (proprietary prototype, GE HealthCare), and available data for both eGFR and ACR. Results: A total of 700 PwT2D (332 women) were included, of whom 295 patients had nephropathy (42.1%), including 87 (12.4%) with eGFR < 60 ml/min/1.73m2 and 258 (36.9%) with ACR ≥ 3 mg/mmol. Mean age (± standard deviation) was 60.3 ± 10.4 years old and 44.8% had obesity. EAT volume was higher in patients with nephropathy compared to those without (respectively, 103.6 ± 39.8 versus 93.8 ± 36.8 cm3, p = 0.001). EAT volume differed across eGFR classes (≥ 60 versus < 60 mL/min/1.73m2): respectively 96.6 ± 38.1 and 107.7 ± 39.2 (p = 0.012) and ACR classes (< 3; between 3 and 29.9; ≥ 30 mg/mmol): respectively 94.7 ± 36.9, 106.0 ± 40.2, and 95.7 ± 39.8 cm3 (p = 0.004). EAT volume was weakly correlated to eGFR (r = -0.146; p < 0.001) and to ACR (r = 0.124; p = 0.001). After adjustment for major confounding factors, each 10 cm3 increase of EAT volume was associated with a 5.8% increase in the odds of nephropathy (OR = 1.058 [95% CI 1.007–1.112], p = 0.026) and a 5.9% increase in the odds of ACR ≥ 3 mg/mmol (OR = 1.059 [95% CI 1.008–1.114], p = 0.024), but not with eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73m2 (OR = 1.047 [95% CI 0.975–1.123], p = 0.204). Conclusion: EAT volume was associated with nephropathy and especially with increased ACR in PwT2D. This association may be partly explained by metabolic and inflammatory mechanisms, potentially driven by EAT and/or other associated ectopic fat depots in PwT2D. Graphical abstract: Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12933-026-03311-z.
SN - 1475-2840
ER -