Longitudinal trajectory of vascular age indices and cardiovascular risk factors: a repeated-measures analysis

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 5401 - 12
• Main Authors: Watanabe, Daiki, Gando, Yuko, Murakami, Haruka, Kawano, Hiroshi, Yamamoto, Kenta, Morishita, Akie, Miyatake, Nobuyuki, Miyachi, Motohiko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 03.04.2023; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/443/1338/2100; 631/443/1338/243; 631/443/7; 692/4019; 692/4019/592; 692/499; Adult; Age Factors; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging; Body mass; Cardiovascular diseases; Carotid Arteries - diagnostic imaging; Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; Comorbidity; Diet; Dietary intake; Female; Health risks; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Middle Aged; multidisciplinary; Multivariate analysis; Physical activity; Physical fitness; Residential areas; Risk Factors; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Smoking; Structure-function relationships; Within-subjects design
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-32443-5
• ISSN: 2045-2322

This study aimed to identify the modifiable cardiovascular risk factors associated with longitudinal changes, which are nine functional and structural biological vascular aging indicators (BVAIs), to propose an effective method to prevent biological vascular aging. We conducted a longitudinal study of 697 adults (a maximum of 3636 BVAI measurements) who were, at baseline, aged between 26 and 85 years and whose BVAIs were measured at least twice between 2007 and 2018. The nine BVAIs were measured using vascular testing and an ultrasound device. Covariates were assessed using validated questionnaires and devices. During the mean follow-up period of 6.7 years, the average number of BVAI measurements ranged from 4.3 to 5.3. The longitudinal analysis showed a moderate positive correlation between the common carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and chronological age in both men (r = 0.53) and women (r = 0.54). In the multivariate analysis, BVAIs were associated with factors such as age, sex, residential area, smoking status, blood clinical chemistry test levels, number of comorbidities, physical fitness, body mass, physical activity, and dietary intake. The IMT is the most useful BVAI. Our findings suggest that modifiable cardiovascular risk factors are associated with longitudinal changes in BVAI as represented by IMT.