| Summary: | Objective: Traditional cardiovascular (CV) risk factors do not fully explain ethnic differences in CV disease [1,2]. We tested if pulse wave velocity (PWV) and Augmentation Index (AIx) and their determinants from childhood may underlie ethnic variability in CV risk as young adults in the ‘DASH’ longitudinal study.
Methods: DASH, at http://dash.sphsu.mrc.ac.uk/, includes representative samples of 6 main UK ethnic groups [3]. PWV and AIx were recorded using Arteriograph device at ages 21–23y in a sub-sample (n=666) psychosocial, anthropometric and blood pressure (BP) measures were collected then and in 2 previous surveys at the age of 11–13y and 14–16y. For n=334, physical activity (PA) was measured over 5 days (ActivPal).
Results: Unadjusted values and regression models for PWVs were similar or lower in ethnic minority than in White UK young adults [4], while AIx was higher - Caribbean (14.9, 95%CI 12.3–17.0, %), West African (15.3, 12.9–17.7, %), Indian (15.1, 13.0–17.2, %) and Pakistani/Bangladeshi (15.7, 13.7–17.7, %), compared with White UK (11.9, 10.2–13.6, %). In multivariate models, adjusted for gender, central sysBP, height and heart rate, Indian and Pakistani/Bangladeshi young adults had higher AIx (β=3.35, 4.20 respectively, p<0.01) than White UK with a similar trend for West Africans and Caribbeans but not statistically significant. Unlike PWV, PA, psychosocial or deprivation measures were not associated with AIx, with borderline associations from brachial BP but no other childhood variables.
Conclusion: Early adult AIx, but not arterial stiffness, may be a useful tool for testing components of excess CV risk in some ethnic minority groups.
|
|---|
