title: Parental longevity, carotid atherosclerosis, and aortic arterial stiffness in adult offspring.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We examined the associations of parental longevity with carotid intima-media thickness, carotid plaques, and aortic arterial stiffness in adult offspring.
  
  
  METHODS
  A population of 1117 volunteers who participated in the SUVIMAX Vascular Study (mean age, 59.7 years; 49.0% women) were included. Carotid-femoral pulse-wave velocity (PWV) was used to assess aortic stiffness. Carotid B-mode ultrasound examination included measurements (at sites free of plaque) of intima-media thickness at the common carotid arteries and assessment of atherosclerotic plaques in the extracranial carotid arteries.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of carotid plaques in subjects whose fathers had died at <65 years, in those whose fathers were alive at 65 years but who had died by 80 years, and in those whose fathers were alive at 80 years was 40.4%, 30.4%, and 28.9%, respectively (P<0.001). The multivariate odds ratios of carotid plaques in the 3 groups of paternal longevity, adjusted for conventional cardiovascular risk factors, were 1, 0.68 (95% CI, 0.48 to 0.96), and 0.69 (95% CI, 0.49 to 0.98), respectively. The mean common carotid arteries intima-media thickness was higher in subjects with premature paternal death in univariate (P<0.007) but not in multivariate (P=0.39) analyses. Mean PWV decreased with increasing paternal longevity in both univariate and multivariate analyses. The multivariate-adjusted means of PWV in the 3 groups of paternal longevity were 11.9+/-0.14, 11.7+/-0.12, and 11.0+/-0.12 m/s (P<0.0001), respectively. In contrast, neither B-mode ultrasound measurements nor PWV measurements were associated with maternal longevity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results may indicate that there are modifications of structure and function of large arteries according to paternal longevity.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), Unit 744, Lille, France. mahmoud.zureik@pasteur-lille.fr
authors.forename: Mahmoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zureik
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Czernichow
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Courbon
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blacher
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ducimetière
authors.forename: Serge
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hercberg
authors.forename: Michel E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Safar
authors.forename: Pilar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Galan
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001011:Aorta / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008136:Longevity; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents