Atherosclerosis. 2014 Apr;233(2):654-60. doi: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2014.01.041. Epub 2014 Jan 30.

Arterial stiffness and influences of the metabolic syndrome: a cross-countries study.

Scuteri A¹, Cunha PG², Rosei EA³, Badariere J⁴, Bekaert S⁵, Cockcroft JR⁶, Cotter J², Cucca F⁷, De Buyzere ML⁸, De Meyer T⁹, Ferrucci L¹⁰, Franco O¹¹, Gale N⁶, Gillebert TC⁸, Hofman A, Langlois M¹², Laucevicius A⁴, Laurent S¹³, Mattace Raso FU¹¹, Morrell CH¹⁴, Muiesan ML³, Munnery MM⁶, Navickas R⁴, Oliveira P¹⁵, Orru' M⁷, Pilia MG⁷, Rietzschel ER⁸, Ryliskyte L⁴, Salvetti M³, Schlessinger D¹⁶, Sousa N¹⁷, Stefanadis C¹⁸, Strait J¹⁹, Van daele C⁸, Villa I²⁰, Vlachopoulos C¹⁸, Witteman J¹¹, Xaplanteris P¹⁸, Nilsson P²¹, Lakatta EG¹⁹; MARE Consortium.

Author information

1: San Raffaele Pisana (HSR) IRCCS, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: angeloelefante@interfree.it.
2: Center for the Research and Treatment of Arterial Hypertension and Cardiovascular Risk, Internal Medicine Department, Guimarães, Centro Hospitalar do Alto Ave/Minho University, Guimaraes Braga, Portugal; Life and Health Science Research Institute (ICVS), School of Health Science, University of Minho, Guimaraes Braga, Portugal; ICVS/3B's, PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal.
3: Dipartimento di Scienze Cliniche e Sperimentali, Università di Brescia, 2° Medicina Generale Spedali Civili, Brescia, Italy.
4: Clinic of Cardiovascular Diseases, Medical Faculty, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania; Centre of Cardiology and Angiology, Vilnius University Hospital Santariskiu Klinikos, Vilnius, Lithuania.
5: Bimetra, Clinical Research Center Ghent, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium.
6: Wales Heart Research Institute, Cardiff University, Heath Park, Cardiff, UK.
7: Institute of Genetics and Biomedic Research (IRGB), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Monserrato, Cagliari, Italy.
8: Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, Ghent University Hospital and Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
9: Dept. of Mathematical Modelling, Statistics and Bioinformatics, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
10: Scientific Director, IRP NIA, NIH, Baltimore, USA.
11: Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
12: Clinical Chemistry, AZ Sint-Jan Bruges Hospital, Asklepios Core Lab, and Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
13: Department of Pharmacology, Pompidou Hospital, INSERM U970 and University Paris Descartes, Paris, France.
14: Laboratory Cardiovascular Sciences, National Institute on Aging (NIA), NIH, Baltimore, USA; Loyola College, Baltimore, USA.
15: Departamento de Estudo de Populações, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
16: Laboratory of Genetics, National Institute on Aging (NIA), NIH, Baltimore, USA.
17: Life and Health Science Research Institute (ICVS), School of Health Science, University of Minho, Guimaraes Braga, Portugal; ICVS/3B's, PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal.
18: 1st Department of Cardiology, Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece.
19: Laboratory Cardiovascular Sciences, National Institute on Aging (NIA), NIH, Baltimore, USA.
20: Center for the Research and Treatment of Arterial Hypertension and Cardiovascular Risk, Internal Medicine Department, Guimarães, Centro Hospitalar do Alto Ave/Minho University, Guimaraes Braga, Portugal.
21: Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.

Abstract

Specific clusters of metabolic syndrome (MetS) components impact differentially on arterial stiffness, indexed as pulse wave velocity (PWV). Of note, in several population-based studies participating in the MARE (Metabolic syndrome and Arteries REsearch) Consortium the occurrence of specific clusters of MetS differed markedly across Europe and the US. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether specific clusters of MetS are consistently associated with stiffer arteries in different populations. We studied 20,570 subjects from 9 cohorts representing 8 different European countries and the US participating in the MARE Consortium. MetS was defined in accordance with NCEP ATPIII criteria as the simultaneous alteration in ≥3 of the 5 components: abdominal obesity (W), high triglycerides (T), low HDL cholesterol (H), elevated blood pressure (B), and elevated fasting glucose (G). PWV measured in each cohort was "normalized" to account for different acquisition methods. MetS had an overall prevalence of 24.2% (4985 subjects). MetS accelerated the age-associated increase in PWV levels at any age, and similarly in men and women. MetS clusters TBW, GBW, and GTBW are consistently associated with significantly stiffer arteries to an extent similar or greater than observed in subjects with alteration in all the five MetS components--even after controlling for age, sex, smoking, cholesterol levels, and diabetes mellitus--in all the MARE cohorts. In conclusion, different component clusters of MetS showed varying associations with arterial stiffness (PWV).