Adipose hypocellularity in cyanotic congenital heart disease.

Height, weight, total body fat, adipocyte size (cellular lipid content), total adipocyte number, and lean body mass were studied in two groups of similar aged children with congenital heart disease. One group was comprised of 19 children cyanotic from infancy. The second group was made up of 16 asymptomatic, acyanotic patients and served as the basis for age and sex adjusted comparisons. Cyanotic patients were lighter (P less than 0.001) and had less total body fat (P less than 0.001). Although there was no difference in adipocyte size, total adipocyte number was less in the cyanotic children (P less than 0.001), suggesting that the reduced body fat found with cyanosis is due to adipocyte hypocellularity. The additional observation that cyanotic patients were shorter (P less than 0.003) and had less lean body mass (P less than 0.001) than noncyanotic children implies that early hypoxemia produces widespread abnormalities which impair growth.