A4751 Ethnic difference of carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity and associated risk factor profiles - results from two community-based cohort studies in China and Sweden

Objectives: Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) and its risk factors may differ among populations. However, few studies have compared the absolute value of cfPWV, and its associated risk profiles, in different ethnicities. Methods: The study population included 1272 community-dwelling residents (age 75.0 ± 6.5 years, female 57.3%) from Qingpu district, Shanghai, China, and 3049 subjects (age 72.5 ± 5.5 years, female 60.4%) from the Malmö Diet and Cancer Study re-examination, Sweden. cfPWV was assessed by the SphygmoCor device in the same way in all subjects. Results: Multivariate linear regression analyses showed that cfPWV was positively associated with male sex, older age, body mass index (BMI), mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate, fasting glucose and triglycerides (P < 0.03) in both populations. The effect size associated with age was greater in Swedish than in Chinese subjects (β, 0.09 vs 0.04, P < 0.001), while those associated with BMI (0.05 vs 0.01, P < 0.001), MAP (0.08 vs 0.07, P = 0.02), and heart rate (0.06 vs 0.04, P = 0.001) were larger in Chinese. No difference was observed in the effect size associated with sex, fasting glucose and triglycerides. cfPWV was associated with anti-hypertensive therapy, total cholesterol and serum uric acid only in Swedish subjects (P≤0.02), and eGFR only in Chinese subjects (P = 0.03). Multivariate-adjusted cfPWV was higher in Swedish than in Chinese (adjusted mean ± SE, 10.6 ± 0.1 vs 9.2 ± 0.1 m/s, P < 0.001), and the ethnic difference remained significant in subgroups stratified by age, blood pressure, BMI and blood glucose. Conclusion: Although Chinese and Swedish subjects shared similar major risk factors associated with arterial stiffness, ethnic differences existed in cfPWV and its associations with risk factors.