Lung function is associated with arterial stiffness in children

• Published in: PloS one 2011-10, Vol.6 (10), p.e26303
• Main Authors: Ayer, Julian G, Belousova, Elena G, Harmer, Jason A, Toelle, Brett, Celermajer, David S, Marks, Guy B
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adults; Age; Aging; Analysis; Archives & records; Asthma; Augmentation; Avoidance; Biology; Blood pressure; Cardiology; Cardiovascular diseases; Carotid Artery Diseases - physiopathology; Child; Childhood asthma; Children; Children & youth; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Critical care; Diet; Dietary supplements; Disease; Dust; Exposure; Fatty acids; Female; Heart; Heart rate; Hospitals; House dust; Humans; Hypertension; Inhalation Exposure - adverse effects; Lung - physiopathology; Lung diseases; Male; Maternal Exposure - adverse effects; Medical research; Medicine; Mites; Multiple births; Older people; Omega-3 fatty acids; Passive smoking; Pediatrics; Portable computers; Pregnancy; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; Primary care; Prospective Studies; Randomization; Respiratory function; Respiratory Function Tests; Smoke; Smoking; Stiffness; Surveys and Questionnaires; Tobacco; Tobacco smoke; Tobacco Smoke Pollution - adverse effects; Urine; Vascular Stiffness - physiology
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0026303

In older adults, an independent association exists between impaired lung function and cardiovascular disease. This interaction might be related to the effects of aging and/or smoking. In order to explore possible childhood antecedents to this association, we hypothesized that decreased lung function and vascular stiffness might be related, in early life. To determine the relationship between lung function and carotid augmentation index (AIx), a measure of vascular stiffness, in 8-year old children. Data on brachial blood pressure, lung function (FEV(1), FVC, FEV(1)/FVC, obtained by spirometry) and carotid AIx75 (AIx standardised to an arbitrary heart rate of 75 beats per minute, obtained by applanation tonometry) was available in 249 community-based 8-year old children. These healthy children had been subjects in a randomised controlled trial of two interventions (omega-3 fatty acid supplementation and house-dust mite avoidance) to prevent asthma. Smoking in pregnancy and childhood environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure was prospectively collected by questionnaire. The association between lung function and carotid AIx75 was assessed in multivariate models that included sex, height, smoking status during pregnancy, ETS exposure and randomisation groups (house dust mite avoidance and dietary intervention) as covariates. In the fully adjusted models, Carotid AIx75 was independently associated with FEV1 (standardised β = -0.17,b = -6.72, partial R(2) = .02, p = 0.03), FVC (standardised β = -0.29, b = -9.31, partial R(2) = 0.04, p