Sex-difference in types of cardiac organ damage has been reported in subjects with increased body mass index (BMI). However less is known about sex-differences in left ventricular (LV) myocardial function assessed by global longitudinal strain (GLS) in these subjects.
493 subjects (mean age 47?±?9 years, 61% women) with BMI?>?27.0 kg/m2 and without known cardiac disease underwent 24-hour (24h) ambulatory blood pressure (BP) recording, body composition analysis, carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) measurement and echocardiography. LV peak systolic GLS was measured by two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography and LV ejection fraction (EF) by biplane Simpson's method. Insulin sensitivity was assessed by homeostatic model of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR).
Women had higher prevalence of increased waist circumference (99% vs. 82%), lower prevalence of hypertension (59 vs. 74%), and lower serum triglycerides (1.3?±?0.7 vs. 1.7?±?0.9 mmol/L) and carotid-femoral PWV (7.3?±?1.6 vs. 7.7?±?1.6 m/s) compared to men (all p?