Research Background and Scientific Basis:
Cardiac dysfunction and remodeling are key mechanisms driving cardiovascular events, largely influenced by chronic metabolic abnormalities and inflammation. Most existing studies have examined single risk factors, lacking integrated analysis of metabolic, inflammatory, and imaging data in large populations. The UK Biobank, with its multimodal dataset-including biochemical, metabolomic, and inflammatory markers, cardiac MRI, ECG, and follow-up outcomes-enables comprehensive assessment of cardiac and vascular remodeling and investigation of metabolism-inflammation interactions in cardiovascular health.
Research Questions:
(1) What are the associations between metabolic risk factors (e.g., glucose, HbA1c, lipid profile) and cardiovascular structural and functional changes, independent of traditional risk factors?
(2) How are systemic inflammatory markers (e.g., CRP, fibrinogen, leukocyte indices) related to cardiac and vascular remodeling, and can they predict adverse cardiovascular outcomes?
(3) Do metabolic and inflammatory disturbances interact synergistically to accelerate remodeling, and can combined profiles better predict outcomes?
Research Objectives:
(1) Assess associations between metabolic indicators and structural/functional alterations of the atria, ventricles, and vessels.
(2) Evaluate the impact of inflammatory biomarkers on cardiac and vascular remodeling.
(3) Explore the joint metabolic-inflammatory effects on cardiovascular remodeling and long-term event risk.
