title: Associations of plasma homocysteine levels with arterial stiffness in prehypertensive individuals.
abstract: Prehypertension is associated with oxidative stress and increased arterial stiffness. While plasma homocysteine levels are associated with increased pulse wave velocity in hypertensive individuals, there is no report regarding this relationship in prehypertensives. Homocysteine levels and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) were investigated in 4177 prehypertensives (3178 men, mean age 53 ± 11 years) with ankle-brachial indexes (ABIs) greater than 0.95 who had visited the Kangbuk Samsung Health Promotion Center. The subjects were subdivided into two groups according to baPWV; group I (1720 subjects) was defined as subjects with a baPWV of 1366 cm/sec or lower, while group II (2457 subjects) included subjects with a baPWV greater than 1366 cm/sec. Subjects were also divided into four quartile groups depending on homocysteine level. Homocysteine levels in group II were found to be significantly higher than those in group I. There were significant differences in baPWV value among the four quartile groups (quartile I, 1411 ± 213.9 cm/sec; quartile II, 1436 ± 223.3 cm/sec; quartile III, 1460 ± 220.4 cm/sec; quartile IV, 1494 ± 251.3 cm/sec; p-value <0.001). In multivariate regression models, the increasing quartile groups of homocysteine had higher odds ratios (ORs) for increased baPWV compared to that of the lowest quartile group (OR [95% confidence interval (CI)] in the second, third, and highest quartiles: 1.41 [1.12-1.77], 1.65 [1.30-2.10], and 1.82 [1.42-2.33], respectively, p < 0.001), irrespective of confounding factors. This study indicates an independent relationship between circulating homocysteine level and arterial stiffness in prehypertensives, suggesting that circulating homocysteine level could be a useful biomarker of subclinical target organ damage in prehypertensives.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. bjjake.kim@samsung.com
authors.forename: Byung Jin
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: MiHae
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.forename: Jung Kwon
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Huh
authors.forename: Chang Hee
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.forename: Jung Tae
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Ki Chul
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Sung
authors.forename: Bum Soo
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jin Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D055109:Ankle Brachial Index; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006710:Homocysteine / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D058246:Prehypertension / Q000097:blood* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012044:Regression Analysis; D059289:Vascular Stiffness / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D006710:Homocysteine