title: Attenuated Age-Related Increases in Arterial Stiffness in Japanese and American Women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The United States and Japan have similar standards of living, healthcare systems, and industrializations but exhibit markedly divergent life expectancies both at birth and at later ages (50 or 65 years old). Arterial stiffness has been widely regarded as a barometer of biological or physiological aging and could provide insight into the inter-country differences.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether the increases in arterial stiffness across the adult age range are greater in U.S. than Japanese adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional analyses.
  
  
  METHODS
  Laboratory-based study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Healthy, nonsmoking Japanese (n = 400) and U.S. (n = 400) adults without cardiovascular and other chronic diseases.
  
  
  METHODS
  Indices of arterial stiffness, including carotid-femoral (cfPWV) and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) were measured, along with a variety of ancillary measures. The recruitment method, measurement technique, and protocol were standardized and identical between U.S. and Japanese facilities.
  
  
  RESULTS
  cfPWV and baPWV increased progressively with advancing age in all subgroups (stratified according to sex and country). The rates of age-related increases in arterial stiffness were not different between U.S. and Japanese men, but age-associated increases in cfPWV were significantly greater in U.S. than Japanese women, widening the intercountry differences at older age ranges.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Japanese women had smaller increases in central arterial stiffness with advancing age than U.S. women.
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology and Health Education, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas.
authors.forename: Hirofumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Promotion and Exercise, National Institute of Health and Nutrition, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Motohiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miyachi
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Promotion and Exercise, National Institute of Health and Nutrition, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Haruka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Murakami
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maeda
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sugawara
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D055109:Ankle Brachial Index / Q000379:methods*; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology; D001916:Brachial Artery / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D058729:Peripheral Arterial Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D063177:Pulse Wave Analysis / Q000379:methods; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D059289:Vascular Stiffness; D016387:Women's Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: aging; international; life expectancy; pulse wave velocity