ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Several studies showed the relationship between serum homocysteine and pulse wave velocity, but their subjects were confined to high risk group for cardiovascular diseases and recent study revealed no relationship in young healthy adults. We hypothesized that time interval would be needed for serum homocysteine to infl uence pulse wave velocity after exposure to vascular endothelium. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between serum homocysteine and pulse wave velocity in middle aged women on the basis of that hypothesis and necessity for further study in general population. METHODS: The study subjects were 110 middle aged women who visited a health promotion center of a general hospital. We collected medical history by means of self-reported questionnaire and measured height, weight, blood pressure and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV). Blood sampling was performed after overnight fasting. We analyzed the relationship between several cardiovascular risk factors and baPWV and performed multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: BaPWV velocity was correlated significantly with age, mean blood pressure, serum homocysteine, total cholesterol and diabetes mellitus, but not with body mass index, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride, creatinine clearance, alcohol intake, hypertension and smoking. In multiple regression, there was a significant association between age (P = 0.04), moderate hyperhomocysteinemia (P = 0.02), mean blood pressure (P < 0.001) and baPWV. CONCLUSION: In middle aged women, there was an independently positive association between serum homocysteine and baPWV