title: Influences of age and gender on results of noninvasive brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity measurement--a survey of 12517 subjects.
abstract: The present study was conducted to evaluate the influences of age and gender on the results of noninvasive brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV). In 12517 subjects who had no medication and no history of cardiovascular diseases, multiple regression analysis demonstrated that age, blood pressure, body mass index, triglycerides, blood glucose, and uric acid were significant variables for baPWV in both genders. From this population, we extracted 7881 "healthy subjects" (4488 males and 3393 females, 25-87 years) without any of the atherogenic risk factors, and the results of baPWV were analyzed chronologically in 5-year age intervals. baPWV was lower in females than in males until age 60, and became similar in both genders over age 60. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that not only the value of R(2) but also the coefficient of the effect of age on baPWV are larger in females than in males. In the estimation of the regression curve, the relationship between age and baPWV demonstrated a quadratic curve in both genders. Thus, aging influences baPWV, and its effect is more prominent in female. Menopause seems to be the crucial phenomenon to explain the augmented increase in arterial stiffness with aging in females.
authors.affiliation: The Second Department of Internal Medicine, Tokyo Medical University, 6-7-1 Nishi-shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan.
authors.forename: Hirofumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tomiyama
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yamashina
authors.forename: Tomio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Arai
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hirose
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Koji
authors.forename: Taishiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chikamori
authors.forename: Saburoh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hori
authors.forename: Yoshio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Nobutaka
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Doba
authors.forename: Shigeaki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hinohara
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000886:Anthropometry; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011336:Probability; D011673:Pulsatile Flow; D011674:Pulse; D012016:Reference Values; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012737:Sex Factors