title: Non-invasive measurement of brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity is associated with serum C-reactive protein but not with alpha-tocopherol in Japanese middle-aged male workers.
abstract: Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is an indicator of arterial stiffness, especially in the aorta, and a marker for vascular damage. We examined the association of brachial-ankle PWV (baPWV) with serum alpha-tocopherol and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in addition to the traditional risk factors. Study subjects were 178 Japanese male workers aged 50-59 without past histories of cardiovascular diseases. The relation of baPWV with serum alpha-tocopherol and CRP levels was cross-sectionally analyzed after adjusting for other cardiovascular risk factors. The arithmetic mean of serum alpha-tocopherol was 38.9 micromol/l, and the geometric mean of serum CRP was 0.47 mg/l. Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that serum CRP levels were associated with an elevation of baPWV, in addition to age, systolic blood pressure and heart rate. However, serum alpha-tocopherol, serum lipids (triglyceride, low and high density lipoprotein cholesterol), fasting plasma glucose, body mass index, smoking and alcohol drinking did not significantly correlate to baPWV. Multivariate-adjusted means of baPWV according to serum CRP quartile were 1,431, 1,436, 1,507 and 1,508 cm/s (p = 0.033). The serum CRP level might be an important marker for arterial stiffness in Japanese middle-aged males. However, no relation was observed between alpha-tocopherol and baPWV.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Science, Shiga University of Medical Science, Setatsukinowa-cho, Otsu 520-2192, Japan. tokamura@belle.shiga-med.ac.jp
authors.forename: Tomonori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okamura
authors.forename: Yuri
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Moriyama
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kadowaki
authors.forename: Hideyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kanda
authors.forename: Hirotsugu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ueshima
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D000842:Ankle / Q000098:blood supply*; D044466:Asian People; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001916:Brachial Artery / Q000502:physiology*; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011674:Pulse; D013599:Systole; D024502:alpha-Tocopherol / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D024502:alpha-Tocopherol