title: Ankle-arm blood pressure index and cardiovascular risk factors in elderly Japanese men.
abstract: Low ankle-arm systolic blood pressure index (AAI) correlates with various cardiovascular risk factors and with risk of subsequent coronary heart disease and stroke in Western countries. However, few epidemiological data are available among Japanese, in whom the reported prevalence of peripheral artery disease is low. We examined the relationship between AAI and cardiovascular risk factors among 1,219 men aged 60 to 79 years in two Japanese communities in 1999 and 2000. The prevalence of AAI<0.90 was 5% in both communities. Hypertension, major ECG abnormality, current smoking, and history of stroke were associated with two- to four-fold higher prevalence of AAI<0.90. One-standard deviation increments of body mass index and high density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels were associated with 60% and 40% lower prevalence of AAI<0.90, respectively. Although the prevalence of low AAI in Japanese elderly men is lower than that reported in the Unites States and European studies, similar correlations of low AAI with cardiovascular risk factors were observed among different ethnic groups. Low AAI is suggested to be a predictor for stroke among Japanese men, which should be confirmed by a prospective study.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School Doctoral Program in Medical Science, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan.
authors.forename: Renzhe
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Hiroyasu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iso
authors.forename: Kazumasa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamagishi
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tanigawa
authors.forename: Hironori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Imano
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohira
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kitamura
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Yoshihiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Naito
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shimamoto
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000842:Ankle; D001132:Arm; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D020521:Stroke / Q000453:epidemiology