Abstract P138: Novel Arterial Stiffness Index Was Associated with Pulmonary Function

Abstract

Introduction: Recent studies have shown that the results of vascular function tests, such as pulse wave velocity or cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), were associated with pulmonary function in children or hypertensive patients, and increased CAVI might be correlated with progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. However, the association between vascular function and pulmonary function remains unclear, especially in healthy adult people. Arterial velocity index (AVI) is a novel arterial stiffness index that can be measured more easily than previous methods. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between AVI and pulmonary function test results in the healthy adult population. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of healthy adults aged 20 years or older at a single large medical center in Hachinohe, Japan between April 2014 and March 2015. We measured AVI using cuff oscillometry. AVI means the characteristics of pulse waves at higher cuff pressure than systolic BP. The outcome measure was forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), which was measured with spirometry. We used log-transformed values of AVI and FEV1, as the distributions of these values were skewed. We calculated a correlation coefficient between AVI and FEV1, and performed multiple linear regression analyses to adjust for effects of age, sex, height, and smoking status. Results: In total, 777 men and 530 women participated in this study. The mean age of total participants was 44.9 years (SD = 5.9), and the percentage of current smokers was 32.0 % (418 out of 1,307). The mean AVI was 15.6 (SD = 4.9), and the mean FEV1 was 3.13 L (SD = 0.65). AVI was negatively correlated with FEV1 (r = –0.21, p < 0.001). In fully-adjusted models, AVI was independently associated with FEV1 (β = –0.03, p = 0.017, 95 % CI = –0.06 to –0.01). Conclusions: Our study showed that an increase of arterial stiffness as assessed via AVI was independently associated with a decrease in FEV1 in the healthy Japanese population. Further study is warranted to confirm these findings in cohort studies.