Relationship of Subclinical Hypothyroidism on Epicardial Adipose Tissue: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Accumulation of epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) and Subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) are associated with increased cardio-metabolic risk. The objective of this study was to quantitatively compare EAT thickening between patients with SH and healthy controls. Therefore, after searching the PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Science Direct, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Cochrane databases; we analyzed a group of observational studies who compare the EAT changes between SH vs control groups. A total of 9 studies were included in the final analysis, for a total of 424 patients with SH and 330 controls. Random or fixed effects models were used. Pooled analysis revealed that HS increased EAT (MD: 1.0 mm [0.40; 1.50]; P < 0.01). This meta-analysis suggests that the amount of EAT is significantly increased in SH patients. EAT might be a marker of cardiovascular risk in patients with SH.