Wave reflections in hypertension: role of sex, metabolic, and ethnic factors

Abstract

Objectives: Although the links between pulsatile hemodynamics and age are widely acknowledged in hypertension, the interactions of sex, ethnicity, and metabolic factors with hemodynamic parameters remain largely unknown. We investigated the effects of body weight, glycemia, and cholesterolemia on the carotid augmentation index (CAI) and potential changes over time, with particular focus on the roles of sex and ethnicity.

Methods: Baseline (V1) and repeat (V2) measurements (at ∼1.7 years) of wave reflections (calculated from CAI), brachial and carotid pulse pressure, and heart rate were assessed in 2530 normotensive and hypertensive men and women living in Paris but born in either France, Africa, or Asia.

Results: At V1, and in comparison with French-born individuals, African-born individuals had significantly higher CAI, cardiovascular risk, and body weight, whereas Asian-born individuals had similar CAI but lower body weight, and higher cardiovascular risk, triglyceridemia, and heart rate. Stepwise multiple regression showed similar effects of cholesterolemia on CAI in all populations, whereas only French-born individuals (insulin-resistant men and women) showed associations between hyperglycemia and potential CAI dysfunction. Repeat (V2) measurements highlighted significant interactions (P < 0.008) of sex and ethnicity with changes in CAI over time. In men, CAI changes did not differ as a function of ethnicity, whereas in African-born women, they were lesser than those of Asian-born (P < 0.03) and French-born (P < 0.02) women.

Conclusion: In the French-born population, CAI changes are affected by diabetes and possibly insulin-resistance, independently of sex. In African-born and Asian-born populations, CAI is sex-specific. Elevated CAI in African-born women calls for close monitoring of cardiovascular risk.