title: Skinfold thickness as a predictor of arterial stiffness: obesity and fatness linked to higher stiffness measurements in hypertensive patients.
abstract: Hypertensive patients have strong evidence of endothelial dysfunction. Some novel endothelial dysfunction parameters such as pulse wave velocity (PWV), augmentation index (AIx), and central aortic pressure (CAP) have been investigated as predictive markers of atherosclerosis. It is well known that obesity has relationships with endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis. We aimed to investigate relationships between anthropometric measurements and arterial stiffness parameters in essentially hypertensive patients. The study population included 100 patients (56 females, 44 males) newly or formerly diagnosed as essentially hypertensive in an outpatient clinic. Arterial stiffness measurements, including PWV, AIx, CAP, and body mass index (BMI); waist circumference, hip circumference; waist/hip ratio; and triceps, biceps, subscapular, and suprailiac skinfold thicknesses were also applied to all the study patients. Then, the relationships between BMI, anthropometric measurements, and arterial stiffness parameters were investigated. The mean systolic arterial blood pressure of the study population was 135.85 ± 15.27 mm Hg and the mean diastolic arterial blood pressure of the study population was 84.17 ± 9.58 mm Hg. The parameters such as PWV, AIx, and CAP measured for arterial stiffness had correlations between BMI and different anthropometric measurements. The statistically significant correlations were present between PWV and triceps skinfold thickness (TST) (r = 0.377, P < .001) and it was also seen when regression analysis was performed (PWV = 6.41 + [0.072 × TST]; R(2) = 0.142, F[1-98] = 16.23, P < .001). Triceps skinfold thickness among these correlations may be used to estimate the carotid-femoral PWV, which is an indicator of subclinical organ damage due to hypertension.
authors.affiliation: Gulhane Medical Academy, Department of Internal Medicine , Ankara , Turkey.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Selcuk
authors.forename: Fatih
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bulucu
authors.forename: Firdevs
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kalafat
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cakar
authors.forename: Seref
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Demirbas
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karaman
authors.forename: Seyid Ahmet
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Ay
authors.forename: Kenan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Saglam
authors.forename: Sevket
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Balta
authors.forename: Sait
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Demirkol
authors.forename: Erol
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Arslan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D062186:Arterial Pressure; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D063177:Pulse Wave Analysis; D012885:Skinfold Thickness; D059289:Vascular Stiffness / Q000502:physiology*; D055105:Waist Circumference; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio