title: Inverse Relationship between Cardio-Ankle Vascular Index and Body Mass Index in Healthy Children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To establish reference scores for cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), a noninvasive measure of vascular function, which reflects the stiffness of arteries, in healthy children, to test for racial and ethnic differences, and to compare CAVI scores between overweight and normal weight children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects included 292 children aged 10-18 years: 100 non-Hispanic whites, 89 non-Hispanic blacks, and 103 Hispanics. Subjects were grouped as normal weight (body mass index [BMI] <85th percentile for age) and overweight (BMI >85th percentile for age). Blood pressure (BP) and CAVI scores were measured in all subjects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After controlling for age, sex, and BMI, normal weight black males had a higher CAVI score (indicating stiffer arteries) in comparison with Hispanic males and white males (5.53 ± 0.15 vs 5.13 ± 0.15 vs 5.02 ± 0.15, P = .04). BMI had an inverse association on the CAVI score (r = -0.335, P < .0001). In multivariable analysis, BMI and average CAVI scores were significant predictors of each other (R(2) = 0.37, P < .0001, R(2) = 0.21, P < .0001). There was no significant correlation between CAVI scores and resting BP values, confirming that CAVI scores were independent of concurrent BP values.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Significant differences in vascular function exist among ethnic groups of children. Overweight children had lower CAVI scores, suggestive of vascular adaptation to obesity in early life. CAVI, by providing a noninvasive measure of vascular health, may help identify children at increased risk for cardiovascular disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN. Electronic address: rphilip@uthsc.edu.
authors.forename: Ranjit
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Philip
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN.
authors.forename: Bruce S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Alpert
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schwingshackl
authors.affiliation: University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Technologies for Medicine, San Antonio, TX.
authors.forename: Douglas
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Blakely
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN.
authors.forename: Cynthia R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Rovnaghi
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN.
authors.forename: Quynh T
authors.initials: QT
authors.lastname: Tran
authors.affiliation: Florida International University, Miami, FL.
authors.forename: Andres'
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Velasquez
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN.
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arevalo
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN.
authors.forename: Kanwaljeet J S
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Anand
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American; D055109:Ankle Brachial Index; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D050177:Overweight / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D063177:Pulse Wave Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D059289:Vascular Stiffness / Q000502:physiology*; D044465:White People