Airflow limitation as a risk factor for vascular stiffness

• Published in: The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease Vol. 24; no. 6; pp. 577 - 584
• Main Authors: Sheen, S. S., Kim, H. J., Singh, D., Hwang, S. C., Park, K. J., Ahn, S. V., Lee, E., Park, B., Jung, J. H., Park, R. W., Kim, J. H., Park, H-S., Park, J. H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: France International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease 01.06.2020; International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD)
• Subjects: Adult; Air flow; Airflow Limitation; Ankle; Ankle Brachial Index; Arteriosclerosis; Atherosclerosis; Blood pressure; Bronchodilators; Cardiovascular diseases; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Forced Expiratory Volume; Humans; Leukocytes; Low density lipoprotein; Lung diseases; Male; Males; Middle Aged; Obstructive lung disease; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - diagnosis; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - epidemiology; Pulse Wave Analysis; Regression analysis; Republic of Korea - epidemiology; Risk analysis; Risk Factors; Smoking; Spirometry; Stiffness; Vascular Stiffness; Vital Capacity; Wave velocity; Republic of Korea
• ISSN: 1027-3719; 1815-7920; 1815-7920
• DOI: 10.5588/ijtld.19.0457

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease is one of the main causes of mortality in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and atherosclerosis is a cause of cardiac comorbidities in COPD. However, it is not clear whether airflow limitation is associated with atherosclerosis irrespective of smoking.OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether airflow limitation is independently associated with vascular stiffness.METHODS: We enrolled 18 893 participants (male 70.5%; mean age 47.5 ± 9.8 years; never smokers 44.2%) who underwent spirometry and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) as part of a standard health examination at Ajou University Hospital, Suwon, South Korea, from January 2010 to December 2015.We defined vascular peripheral atherosclerosis as baPWV ≥ 1400 cm/s and airflow limitation as pre-bronchodilator ratio of forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV1) to forced vital capacity (FVC) <70%.RESULTS: Mean baPWV was higher in subjects with airflow limitation (1477.6 ± 331.7 cm/sec, n = 638) than in those without airflow limitation (1344.1 ± 231.8 cm/sec, n = 18255, P < 0.001). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, the following were independent predictors associated with peripheral atherosclerosis (P < 0.05): age, male sex, fasting serum glucose, mean blood pressure, serum leukocyte count, serum low density lipoprotein level and FEV1.CONCLUSION: Airflow limitation was an independent predictor of vascular stiffness irrespective of smoking history, which suggests that airflow limitation is linked with atherosclerosis.