Abstract
Introduction: Vascular growth factors (VasGFs) and increased arterial stiffness provide an early indication of structural and functional blood vessel changes that lead to cardiovascular disease. We aimed to determine if there was an association between serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), epidermal growth factor (EFG), angiopoietin 1 (Angp1) and angiopoietin 2 (Angp2) with arterial stiffness in 28-30-year-old adults from a birth cohort. Methods: Participants were a subset of members of a longitudinal study of children born in Jamaica between September and October 1986. Sociodemographic and anthropometric measurements were taken at the 18-20 and 28-30 follow-up visits, while serum was collected at the 18-20 year old visit. The pulse wave velocity (Arteriograph TM ) was used to measure arterial stiffness at the 28-30-year-old visit. Analyses were limited to participants who had pulse wave velocity measurements. Multiple imputation using chained equations was done to account for missing data on the explanatory variables. Linear regression models were used to explore bivariate associations. The final multivariable model included VEGF, EGF, Angp1, Angp2, age, sex, BMI, SBP, DBP, smoking and education. Results: Analyses included 387 participants (47% male). At 18-20yrs median serum concentrations of VEGF 75.4 pg/ml; EGF 951.4 pg/ml; Angp1 67863.7 pg/ml; and Angp2 691 pg/ml. At 28-30 there were sex differences in BMI (M:25.2 vs F:28.8kg/m 2 ), SBP (M:114 vs F:108 mmHg), current smokers (M:29% vs F: 5.4%) tertiary education (M:22% vs F:39%) and arterial stiffness (M:6.4 vs F:6.8m/s). In the final multivariable model both VEGF and EGF were associated with arterial stiffness. VEGF coef (95%CI) 0.095 (0.014, 0.176) p= 0.022 and EGF -0.087 (-0.169, -0.004) p =0.039. There was no association between angp1 or angp2 and pulse wave velocity. Conclusion: VEGF concentrations at 18-20 of was positively associated with arterial stiffness at 28-30 years old, while and EGF showed inverse association. VEGF and EGF may be useful biomarkers of vascular function in young adults.
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