Abstract
Arterial stiffness is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Previous studies have shown that there is a negative correlation between arterial stiffness and variables such as skeletal muscle mass, muscular strength, and anaerobic power in older individuals. However, little research has been undertaken on relationships in healthy young adults. This study presents a preliminary research that investigates the association between arterial stiffness and muscular factors in healthy male college students. Twenty-three healthy young males (23.9 ± 0.5 years) participated in the study. The participants visited the laboratory, and variables including body composition, blood pressure, arterial stiffness, blood parameters, grip strength, and anaerobic power were measured. Measurements of augmentation index (AIx) and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) were performed to determine arterial stiffness. There were significant positive correlations among skeletal muscle mass, muscle strength, and anaerobic power in healthy young adult males. AIx was negatively associated with a skeletal muscle mass (r = −0.785, p < 0.01), muscular strength (r = −0.500, p < 0.05), and anaerobic power (r = −0.469, p < 0.05), respectively. Likewise, AIx@75 corrected with a heart rate of 75 was negatively associated with skeletal muscle mass (r = −0.738, p < 0.01), muscular strength (r = −0.461, p < 0.05), and anaerobic power (r = −0.420, p < 0.05) respectively. However, the baPWV showed no correlation with all muscular factors. Our findings suggest that maintaining high levels of skeletal muscle mass, muscular strength, and anaerobic power from relatively young age may lower AIx.
Highlights
The present study aimed to examine whether muscular variables, including skeletal muscle mass, muscular strength, and anaerobic power, are related to arterial stiffness, an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease
The major findings of the present study were that higher skeletal muscle mass, muscular strength, and anaerobic power were associated with decreased augmentation index (AIx), while brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) was not associated with these muscular variables in physically-active young male adults
According to study by Fahs et al, it represented a negative correlation between muscle strength and cf-Pulse wave velocity (PWV) in 79 young male adults [21]; whether a correlation exists between AIx as a determinant of carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV) and muscle strength remains unknown
Summary
According to a previous study, regarding the relationships among these factors, young adults with a greater number of risk factors for cardiovascular diseases showed significantly lower dilatory capacity of the brachial artery [7]. This finding suggests that vascular function is related to the risk factors for cardiovascular disease even in the younger generation, and managing the blood vessel function from a relatively younger age may be effective in preventing future cardiovascular diseases
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