Abstract
Background:Prolonged heart rate corrected QT (QTc) interval was reported to be associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs).Objective:There exists little data on the association between QTc interval and cardiovascular risk in Asian populations. We prospectively investigated the association of QTc interval with CVDs and vascular traits in a large cohort of Chinese adults.Methods:A total of 7,605 participants aged 40 years or older from a well-defined community without CVDs at baseline were included and followed up for an average of 4.5 years. Association of baseline QTc interval with incident CVDs was evaluated using Cox regression analysis. Associations of QTc interval with brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), and risk of microalbuminuria and peripheral arterial diseases (PAD) were secondarily examined.Results:Prolonged QTc interval (≥460 ms in women and ≥450 ms in men) was associated with 51% higher risk of total major CVDs (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.51, 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.20, 1.90]), particularly, 48% increased risk of stroke (95% CI [1.16, 1.88]). Prolonged QTc interval was positively associated with baPWV (β = 38.10 cm/s, standard error [SE] = 8.04, P < 0.0001) and CIMT (β = 0.01 mm, SE = 0.01, P = 0.04). Prolonged QTc interval was associated with increased risk of incident microalbuminuria (odds ratio [OR] = 1.65, 95% CI [1.21, 2.24]) and PAD (2.49, 95% CI [1.35, 4.59]).Conclusions:Prolonged QTc interval is positively and significantly associated with increased risk of CVDs and related vascular traits in Chinese population.
Highlights
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of mortality worldwide, including developing countries such as China, especially with the increasing rates of obesity and Type 2 diabetes, which are the two important risk factors of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) [1, 2]
In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, we found that prolonged QTc interval was associated with an increased risk of newly developed microalbuminuria and peripheral arterial diseases (PAD) (2.49, 95% confidence interval (CI) [1.35, 4.59]; P = 0.004), after adjustments for sex, age, Body mass index (BMI), current smoking, physical activity, education, diabetes, hypertension, total cholesterol (TC), TG, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)
We found that prolonged QTc interval was associated with the increase in carotid intimamedia thickness (CIMT) and an increased risk of PAD, indicating that QTc interval prolongation could reflect a deterioration of vascular health condition
Summary
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of mortality worldwide, including developing countries such as China, especially with the increasing rates of obesity and Type 2 diabetes, which are the two important risk factors of CVDs [1, 2]. Deng et al: Association of QTc Interval with Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases and Related Vascular Traits value of ECG for CVDs in patients with hypertension and diabetes [4]. A longitudinal study in Americans identified that QTc interval was an independent predictor of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in diabetic patients [5] Another cohort study reported that prolonged QTc interval was associated with a significantly increased risk of stroke in the general population [6]. Prolonged heart rate corrected QT (QTc) interval was reported to be associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Conclusions: Prolonged QTc interval is positively and significantly associated with increased risk of CVDs and related vascular traits in Chinese population
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