Chronic disease associated with enhanced aortic stiffness

1. In a large cohort of adolescents, chronic disease was found to be associated with enhanced aortic stiffness and wall thickness compare to controls.

Evidence Rating Level: 2 (Good)

Adolescents with chronic disease are known to be exposed to long term inflammatory abnormalities which can accelerate atherogenesis. Studies have found that adolescents with chronic disorders are known to have an enhanced cardiovascular risk. Nonetheless, it is challenging to detect early atherosclerosis in adolescents. Therefore, there is limited research in this field. As a result, this study aimed to investigate preclinical atherosclerosis in adolescence with chronic diseases using aortic measures. It enrolled 114 adolescents 12 to 18 years old with disorders such as juvenile idiopathic arthritis (n=20), cystic fibrosis (n=24), obesity (n=20), and corrected coarctation of the aorta (n=25). Health adolescents with a corrected atrial septal defect were used as controls (n=25). The study utilized cardiovascular magnetic resonance to assess aortic pulse wave velocity and aortic wall thickness. These are established aortic measures of preclinical atherosclerosis, which was the primary outcome measured in the study. It was found that adolescence in all chronic disease groups demonstrated increased aortic stiffness and higher aortic wall thickness compared with controls (p<0.05). The study concluded that the enhanced aortic pulse wave velocity and aortic wall thickness in patients with chronic disease could indicate accelerated atherogenesis. However, future studies with a larger sample size and long-term follow-up are needed To validate these results.

Click to read the study in JAHA

Image: PD

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