Pulse pressure tracking from adolescence to young adulthood: contributions to vascular health

Figures & data

Table 1. Characteristics of the participants at adolescence and adulthood by sex.

	Adolescence		Adulthood
	Males	Females	Males	Females
n	46	34	46	34
Age (years)	15.68 ± 0.32	15.62 ± 0.34	29.96 ± 0.47*	30.18 ± 0.52*
Body Mass Index (kg/m^2)	21.18 ± 2.74	21.45 ± 2.69	25.91 ± 3.65*	23.41 ± 3.66*†
Systolic blood pressure (mmHg)	107.01 ± 10.33	103.81 ± 9.67	115.13 ± 9.08*	107.00 ± 8.41*†
Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg)	58.95 ± 6.66	60.38 ± 6.74	66.76 ± 7.21*	65.29 ± 8.88*
Mean arterial pressure (mmHg)	74.97 ± 6.85	74.86 ± 6.85	82.88 ± 6.91*	79.20 ± 7.93*†
Brachial PP (mmHg)	48.07 ± 9.03	43.43 ± 8.11†	48.38 ± 8.07	41.71 ± 7.75†
Carotid PP (mmHg)			39.67  ± 7.12	31.65 ± 6.36†
Carotid IMT (mm)			0.55 ± 0.09	0.53 ± 0.08
Distensibility (1/Kpa)			0.037 ± 0.009	0.041 ± 0.009†
Stiffness Index β			6.38 ± 1.59	6.14 ± 1.24

Results are mean ± SD.

* Significant differences from values at adolescence p < .05.

† Significant differences from males at the same time point p < .05.

PP: pulse pressure; IMT: intima-media thickness.

Table 2. Multivariate association between hemodynamic indices and single measures of blood pressure, measured at adolescence and young adulthood, with carotid IMT and arterial stiffness indices at young adulthood.

		Carotid IMT		Distensibility		Stiffness index β
Models	Time Point	Beta	95%CI	Beta	95%CI	Beta	95%CI
	Adolescence
1	Pulse Pressure	0.279	0.033|0.526	−0.243	−0.484|-0.003	0.253	0.005|0.501
	Mean Arterial Pressure	−0.142	−0.374|0.090	0.001	−0.225|0.227	−0.152	−0.385|0.081
2	Systolic Blood Pressure	0.247	−0.035|0.530	−0.276	−0.551|-0.001	0.212	−0.071|0.495
	Diastolic Blood Pressure	−0.303	−0.564|-0.042	0.183	−0.071|0.438	−0.290	−0.552|-0.027
	Adulthood
1	Pulse Pressure	0.053	−0.204|0.309	−0.483	−0.697|-0.270	0.463	0.254|0.672
	Mean Arterial Pressure	−0.086	−0.320|0.148	−0.027	−0.222|0.167	−0.346	−0.537|-0.155
2	Systolic Blood Pressure	0.023	−0.288|0.334	−0.556	−0.815|-0.297	0.375	0.121|0.628
	Diastolic Blood Pressure	−0.109	−0.391|0.172	0.430	0.196|0.664	−0.674	−0.903|-0.445

All models are adjusted for sex, and body mass index.

IMT: intima-media thickness.

Figure 1. Logistical regression analysis between PP changes from adolescence and early pathological changes of carotid artery structure and stiffness in adulthood. Results are presented as Ln odds-ratio and 95% CI for representation purposes. IMT and stiffness indices are presented as risk categories (i.e. lowest sex-specific tertile for distensibility or highest tertile for stiffness index β). The persistently low PP category was used as the reference group [odds ratio (OR) = 1]. All data are adjusted for sex, mean arterial pressure and body mass index changes. PP: Pulse Pressure; IMT: Intima-Media Thickness; Ln: Logarithm; OR: Odds Ratio.