Pericardial fat and COVID outcomes
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A retrospective, observational study investigating the impact of pericardial fat volume on adverse outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19
IRAS ID
297077
Contact name
Barbara McGowan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Guys & St Thomas' Hospital Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 2 months, 22 days
Research summary
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for an ongoing global pandemic and is expected to become endemic in affected populations. Infection may result in a broad spectrum of disease (COVID-19), ranging from asymptomatic to fatal inflammatory disease. Understanding the nature of COVID-19, who is most at risk and why, is an urgent and global public health priority.
We know that obesity is associated with significantly worse outcomes from COVID-19. However, "obesity" (as defined by high body mass index) covers a heterogeneous population.
Increased fat tissue mass is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation. Fat tissues in different body sites differ in their propensity to induce inflammation. Particularly, fat tissue adjacent to internal organs (visceral fat) is more proinflammatory than fat under the skin. Inflammatory chemicals released by fat cells can act at distant sites (endocrine activity), but most of its action is at local sites (paracrine activity).
We therefore hypothesise that mortality from COVID-19, which results predominantly from lung inflammation, will be specifically correlated with the volume of the main visceral fat depot in the chest, the pericardial fat.
Separate patient cohorts with COVID-19 from Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital and King’s College Hospital, admitted during the first wave in 2020 and with suitable chest scans to measure pericardial fat, have previously been studied in service evaluations. Demographic characteristics and clinical data relating to COVID-19 severity markers have been collected. Scan images will be transferred under pseudonyms to coinvestigators at King’s College London who will measure pericardial fat using a bespoke artificial intelligence-derived algorithm. Once pericardial fat data is received and linked, data will be irreversibly anonymised by permanent deletion of the file linking identifiable data to study ID, with the process complete by 31/3/2022.
The research will exclusively use retrospective clinical data, no additional procedures are involved.REC name
East of England - Essex Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/EE/0025
Date of REC Opinion
14 Feb 2022
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion