Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity is associated with coronary calcification among 1131 healthy middle-aged men.
BACKGROUND
Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) is a simple and reproducible measure of arterial stiffness and is extensively used to assess cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in eastern Asia. We examined whether baPWV is associated with coronary atherosclerosis in an international study of healthy middle-aged men.


METHODS
A population-based sample of 1131 men aged 40-49 years was recruited - 257 Whites and 75 Blacks in Pittsburgh, US, 228 Japanese-Americans in Honolulu, US, 292 Japanese in Otsu, Japan, and 279 Koreans in Ansan, Korea. baPWV was measured with an automated waveform analyzer (VP2000, Omron) and atherosclerosis was examined as coronary artery calcification (CAC) by computed-tomography (GE-Imatron EBT scanner). Association of the presence of CAC (defined as ≥ 10 Agatston unit) was examined with continuous measure as well as with increasing quartiles of baPWV.


RESULTS
As compared to the lowest quartile of baPWV, the multivariable-adjusted odds ratio (95% Confidence Interval [CI]) for the presence of CAC in the combined sample was 1.70 (0.98, 2.94) for 2nd quartile, 1.88 (1.08, 3.28) for 3rd quartile, and 2.16 (1.19, 3.94) for 4th quartile (p-trend = 0.01). The odds for CAC increased by 19% per 100 cm/s increase (p < 0.01), or by 36% per standard-deviation increase (p < 0.01) in baPWV. Similar effect-sizes were observed in individual races, and were significant among Whites, Blacks and Koreans.


CONCLUSION
baPWV is cross-sectionally associated with CAC among healthy middle-aged men. The association was significant in Whites and Blacks in the US, and among Koreans. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine its CVD predictive ability.
['Vishnu|Abhishek|A|', 'Choo|Jina|J|', 'Wilcox|Bradley|B|', 'Hisamatsu|Takashi|T|', 'Barinas-Mitchell|Emma J M|EJ|', 'Fujiyoshi|Akira|A|', 'Mackey|Rachel H|RH|', 'Kadota|Aya|A|', 'Ahuja|Vasudha|V|', 'Kadowaki|Takashi|T|', 'Edmundowicz|Daniel|D|', 'Miura|Katsuyuki|K|', 'Rodriguez|Beatriz L|BL|', 'Kuller|Lewis H|LH|', 'Shin|Chol|C|', 'Masaki|Kamal|K|', 'Ueshima|Hirotsugu|H|', 'Sekikawa|Akira|A|', '|||']
D000328:Adult D000367:Age Factors D055109:Ankle Brachial Index D019540:Area Under Curve D044383:Blacks D015897:Comorbidity D016001:Confidence Intervals D003324:Coronary Artery Disease D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D005202:Far East D064368:Healthy Volunteers D006801:Humans D008137:Longitudinal Studies D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D016017:Odds Ratio D011237:Predictive Value of Tests D015995:Prevalence D063177:Pulse Wave Analysis D018570:Risk Assessment D012720:Severity of Illness Index D061205:Vascular Calcification D059289:Vascular Stiffness D044465:Whites
Atherosclerosis Arteriosclerosis Pulse wave analysis Vascular calcification Vascular stiffness