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Increased Pulse Wave Velocity Associated with Reduced Calcaneal Quantitative Osteo-sono Index: Possible Relationship Between Atherosclerosis and Osteopenia

Second Department of Internal Medicine (K.-i.H., H.T., T.A., Y.K., G.Z.), Tokyo Medical University, Third Department of Medicine (R.O.), Tokyo 160-0023, Japan; and Teikyo University Ichihara Hospital, Preventive Medical Center (S.H.), St. Luke’s International Hospital, Tokyo, Japan

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Hirofumi Tomiyama, M.D., Second Department of Internal Medicine, Tokyo Medical University, 6-7-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan. E-mail: tomiyama{at}tokyo-med.ac.jp.

Although the associations between arterial calcification or advanced atherosclerosis and osteopenia have been well documented, it is not clear whether the one is the result of the other or they coprogress from the early stages through common mechanisms. Thus, we measured pulse wave velocity (PWV), which reflects earlier phase atherosclerosis, and osteo-sono assessment index (OSI), which correlates with bone mineral density, in 7865 Japanese subjects (4183 males and 3682 females, aged 50 ± 12 yr) and analyzed their association. PWV was determined by the volume rendering method; OSI was measured by the calcaneal quantitative ultrasound method. We evaluated the influence of age, gender, menopausal state, and established atherosclerotic risk factors on this association. In a linear regression analysis, OSI negatively correlated with PWV in both genders, and this association was more prominent in females (r = -0.38, P < 0.01) than in males (r = -0.17, P < 0.01). In females, this relationship was stronger after the menopause. In a multivariate analysis, PWV was significantly associated with OSI independent of age and conventional atherosclerotic risk factors. In females, this association was independent from menopause. These results suggest that common or related mechanisms, which may be accelerated after menopause, control both atherosclerosis and osteoporosis from the early stages.

This study was partially supported by a grant in aid from the Japanese Atherosclerosis Prevention Fund.

Abbreviations: baPWV, Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity; BMD, bone mineral density; OPG, osteoprotegerin; OSI, osteo-sono assessment index; PWV, pulse wave velocity; ABI, ankle/brachial pressure index; RANK, receptor activator of nuclear factor-B; SOS, speed of sound.

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