Hemoglobin A1c and arterial and ventricular stiffness in older adults

• Published in: PloS one 2012-10, Vol.7 (10), p.e47941-e47941
• Main Authors: Zieman, Susan J, Kamineni, Aruna, Ix, Joachim H, Barzilay, Joshua, Djoussé, Luc, Kizer, Jorge R, Biggs, Mary L, de Boer, Ian H, Chonchol, Michel, Gottdiener, John S, Selvin, Elizabeth, Newman, Anne B, Kuller, Lewis H, Siscovick, David S, Mukamal, Kenneth J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Adults; Advanced glycosylation end products; African Continental Ancestry Group - genetics; Age; Aged; Aging; Ankle; Ankle Brachial Index; Arteries - diagnostic imaging; Arteries - physiopathology; Biology; Blood Glucose; Blood pressure; Blood Pressure - physiology; Body Mass Index; Correlation analysis; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diabetes mellitus; Drugs; Echocardiography; Fasting; Female; Genetic Association Studies; Glucose; Glycated Hemoglobin A - genetics; Glycated Hemoglobin A - metabolism; Glycation End Products, Advanced - blood; Glycation End Products, Advanced - genetics; Glycosylated hemoglobin; Glycosylation; Health risk assessment; Heart; Heart Ventricles - physiopathology; Hemoglobin; Humans; Laboratory testing; Male; Measurement methods; Medicine; Middle Aged; Morbidity; Mortality; Older people; Population studies; Pressure measurement; Regression analysis; Regression models; Research design; Stiffening; Stiffness; Ultrasonography; Ultrasound; Vascular Stiffness; Ventricle; Womens health
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0047941

Arterial and ventricular stiffening are characteristics of diabetes and aging which confer significant morbidity and mortality; advanced glycation endproducts (AGE) are implicated in this stiffening pathophysiology. We examined the association between HbA(1c), an AGE, with arterial and ventricular stiffness measures in older individuals without diabetes. Baseline HbA(1c) was measured in 830 participants free of diabetes defined by fasting glucose or medication use in the Cardiovascular Health Study, a population-based cohort study of adults aged ≥ 65 years. We performed cross-sectional analyses using baseline exam data including echocardiography, ankle and brachial blood pressure measurement, and carotid ultrasonography. We examined the adjusted associations between HbA(1c) and multiple arterial and ventricular stiffness measures by linear regression models and compared these results to the association of fasting glucose (FG) with like measures. HbA(1c) was correlated with fasting and 2-hour postload glucose levels (r = 0.21; p