Arterial Stiffness is Independently Associated with Severity of Carotid Siphon Calcifications in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: The Atahualpa Project

Background: Knowledge on the association between arterial stiffness and intracranial atherosclerosis is limited. Here, we aimed to assess whether the aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV)—used as a surrogate of arterial stiffness—might independently predict severity of carotid siphon calcifications (CSCs), used as a marker of atherosclerosis. Methods: Of 437 Atahualpa residents aged 60 years or older, 300 (69%) underwent head computed tomography (CT) (for CSC assessment), brain magnetic resonance imaging (for identification of neuroimaging signatures of cerebral small vessel disease [SVD]), and aortic PWV determinations (for arterial stiffness estimation). Ordinal logistic regression models were constructed to predict severity of CSC (as the dependent variable) according to levels of aortic PWV after adjusting for demographics, cardiovascular risk factors, and neuroimaging signatures of SVD. Results: Grade 1 CSC were noticed in 120 (40%) subjects, grade 2 in 84 (28%), grade 3 in 73 (24%), and grade 4 in 23 (8%). The mean PWV was 10.4 ± 1.8 m/s, which increased from 9.8 ± 1.3 to 11.1 ± 2.1 m/s in individuals with grades 1 and 4 CSC, respectively (P <.001). The most parsimonious ordinal logistic regression model adjusted for relevant confounders showed a significant association between aortic PWV and severity of CSC. In this model, a change of 1 unit of aortic PWV increased the odds of CSC severity by 1.22 (95% confidence interval 1.07-1.39; P =.004). Conclusions: The monotonically increased odds of aortic PWV among subjects with different grades of CSC, suggest that aortic PWV may be a marker for identifying candidates for CT screening in the search of CSC.