title: A slightly low hemoglobin level is beneficially associated with arterial stiffness in Japanese community-dwelling women.
abstract: Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a simple and noninvasive method of measuring arterial stiffness for the assessment of cardiovascular disease in high-risk populations. This association may be further confounded by hemoglobin status, which is involved in the development of atherosclerosis. We randomly recruited 120 men and 223 women aged 69 ± 9 and 68 ± 7 years, respectively, during their annual health examination in a single community. Arterial stiffness was evaluated by brachial-ankle PWV (baPWV). The value of baPWV was different from men and women. In men, baPWV was not related to hemoglobin levels (r = 0.013, P = .886), but in women baPWV increased significantly and progressively with increased hemoglobin levels (r = 0.276, P < .001). Stepwise multiple regression analysis using the baPWV as objective variables, adjusted for confounding factors as explanatory variables, showed that only in women, hemoglobin levels (β = 0.165, P = .001) as well as age (β = 0.268, P < .001), body mass index (BMI; β = -0.165, P < .001), systolic blood pressure (SBP; β = 0.429, P < .001), prevalence of antihypertensive (β = 0.154, P = .002), heart rate (HR; β = 0.108, P = .017), and antilipidemic medication (β = 0.094, P = .036), and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR; β = -0.147, P = .003) were significantly and independently associated with baPWV. Multivariate-adjusted baPWV was significantly higher in hemoglobin groups of ≥12.7 g/dL (Group-2, Group-4) than in the lowest hemoglobin group (10.0-12.6 g/dL; P = .032). A slightly low hemoglobin level was beneficially associated with arterial stiffness in community-dwelling women but not men.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Ehime University Graduate School of Medicine, Ehime, Japan. rykawamo@m.ehime-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Ryuichi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kawamoto
authors.forename: Yasuharu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tabara
authors.forename: Katsuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kohara
authors.forename: Tetsuro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miki
authors.forename: Tomo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kusunoki
authors.forename: Tateaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Katoh
authors.forename: Nobuyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ohtsuka
authors.forename: Shuzo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takayama
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abe
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D001809:Blood Viscosity; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011673:Pulsatile Flow; D012307:Risk Factors; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D059289:Vascular Stiffness / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D006454:Hemoglobins