Association of insulin resistance, from mid-life to late-life, with aortic stiffness in late-life: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study

Anna K. Poon, Michelle L. Meyer, Hirofumi Tanaka, Elizabeth Selvin, James Pankow, Donglin Zeng, Laura Loehr, Joshua W. Knowles, Wayne Rosamond, Gerardo Heiss

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24 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Insulin resistance may contribute to aortic stiffening that leads to end-organ damage. We examined the cross-sectional association and prospective association of insulin resistance and aortic stiffness in older adults without diabetes. Methods: We analyzed 2571 men and women at Visit 5 (in 2011-2013), and 2350 men and women at repeat examinations from baseline at Visit 1 (in 1987-1989) to Visit 5 (in 2011-2013). Linear regression was used to estimate the difference in aortic stiffness per standard unit of HOMA-IR, TG/HDL-C, and TyG at Visit 5. Linear mixed effects were used to assess if high, as opposed to non-high, aortic stiffness (> 75th percentile) was preceded by a faster annual rate of change in log-HOMA-IR, log-TG/HDL-C, and log-TyG from Visit 1 to Visit 5. Results: The mean age of participants was 75 years, 37% (n = 957) were men, and 17% (n = 433) were African American. At Visit 5, higher HOMA-IR, higher TG/HDL-C, and higher TyG were associated with higher aortic stiffness (16 cm/s per SD (95% CI 6, 27), 29 cm/s per SD (95% CI 18, 40), and 32 cm/s per SD (95% CI 22, 42), respectively). From Visit 1 to Visit 5, high aortic stiffness, compared to non-high aortic stiffness, was not preceded by a faster annual rate of change in log-HOMA-IR from baseline to 9 years (0.030 (95% CI 0.024, 0.035) vs. 0.025 (95% CI 0.021, 0.028); p = 0.15) or 9 years onward (0.011 (95% CI 0.007, 0.015) vs. 0.011 (95% CI 0.009, 0.013); p = 0.31); in log-TG/HDL-C from baseline to 9 years (0.019 (95% CI 0.015, 0.024) vs. 0.024 (95% CI 0.022, 0.026); p = 0.06) or 9 years onward (-0.007 (95% CI-0.010,-0.005) vs.-0.009 (95% CI-0.010,-0.007); p = 0.08); or in log-TyG from baseline to 9 years (0.002 (95% CI 0.002, 0.003) vs. 0.003 (95% CI 0.003, 0.003); p = 0.03) or 9 years onward (0 (95% CI 0, 0) vs. 0 (95% CI 0, 0); p = 0.08). Conclusions: Among older adults without diabetes, insulin resistance was associated with aortic stiffness, but the putative role of insulin resistance in aortic stiffness over the life course requires further study.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number11
JournalCardiovascular Diabetology
Volume19
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 28 2020

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Author(s).

Keywords

  • Aortic stiffness
  • Arterial stiffness
  • Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity
  • Homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance
  • Insulin resistance
  • Triglyceride and glucose index
  • Triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio

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