Perirenal fat thickness contributes to the estimated 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Objective: Perirenal adipose tissue (PAT) has emerged as a potential therapeutic target for cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the relationship between increased perirenal fat thickness (PrFT) and CVD risks in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) remains uncertain. This study aimed to evaluate the association between PrFT and the estimated 10-year risk of CVD and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) in T2DM.

Method: The final analysis included 704 participants. PrFT was quantified using non-enhanced computed tomography scans, while the estimated 10-year CVD and ASCVD risk assessments were based on the Framingham and China-PAR equation risk scores, respectively. Multiple regression analysis was employed to analyze the correlation between PrFT and these risk scores.

Results: Higher quartiles of PrFT displayed elevated Framingham and China-PAR equation risk scores (<0.001). After adjusting for cardiometabolic risk factors and visceral fat area, PrFT remained significantly correlated with Framingham equation risk scores in men (=0.098, =0.036) and women (=0.099, =0.032). Similar correlations were observed between PrFT and China-PAR equation risk scores in men (=0.106, =0.009) and women (=0.108, =0.007). Moreover, PrFT emerged as an independent variable associated with a high estimated 10-year risk of CVD and ASCVD, with odds ratios (ORs) of 1.14 (95% CI: 1.04-1.25, =0.016) in men and 1.20 (95% CI: 1.11-1.31, <0.001) in women for high estimated CVD risk, and ORs of 1.22 (95% CI: 1.08-1.41, =0.009) in men and 1.34 (95% CI: 1.12-1.60, <0.001) in women for high estimated 10-year ASCVD risk. Furthermore, restricted cubic spline analyses confirmed a nonlinear relationship between PrFT and high estimated CVD and ASCVD risk in both genders ( for nonlinearity and overall < 0.05).

Conclusions: PrFT contributed as an independent variable to the estimated 10-year risk of CVD and ASCVD in T2DM.