Features of the metabolic syndrome and diabetes mellitus as predictors of aortic valve calcification in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.
BACKGROUND
Calcific aortic valve disease is common in the elderly, is correlated with common cardiovascular risk factors, and is associated with increased cardiovascular event risk; however, whether metabolic syndrome is associated with an increased prevalence of aortic valve calcium (AVC) is not known.


RESULTS
The prevalence of AVC, as assessed by computed tomography, was compared in 6780 Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) participants with metabolic syndrome (n=1550; National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel III [ATP III] criteria), diabetes mellitus (n=1016), or neither condition (n=4024). The prevalence of AVC for those with neither condition, metabolic syndrome, or diabetes mellitus was, respectively, 8%, 12%, and 17% in women (P<0.001) and 14%, 22%, and 24% in men (P<0.001). Compared with those with neither condition, the adjusted relative risks for the presence of AVC were 1.45 (95% CI 1.11 to 1.90) for metabolic syndrome and 2.12 (95% CI 1.54 to 2.92) for diabetes mellitus in women and 1.70 (95% CI 1.32 to 2.19) for metabolic syndrome and 1.73 (95% CI 1.33 to 2.25) for diabetes mellitus in men. There was a graded, linear relationship between AVC prevalence and the number of metabolic syndrome components in both women and men (both P<0.001). Similar results were obtained when the International Diabetes Federation metabolic syndrome definition was used.


CONCLUSIONS
In the MESA cohort, the metabolic syndrome and diabetes mellitus are associated with increased risk of AVC, and AVC prevalence is increased with increasing number of metabolic syndrome components.
Katz
Ronit
R
University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Wong
Nathan D
ND
Kronmal
Richard
R
Takasu
Junichiro
J
Shavelle
David M
DM
Probstfield
Jeffrey L
JL
Bertoni
Alain G
AG
Budoff
Matthew J
MJ
O'Brien
Kevin D
KD
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001021:Aortic Valve; D001213:Asian; D044383:Black People; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003925:Diabetic Angiopathies / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000208:ethnology; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D044465:White People