ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome are both rapidly increasing in Koreans due to the new westernized eating habits and the aging of the population. The pulse wave velocity (PWV) reflects arterial stiffness and it may be used as an indicator of atherosclerosis. This study was conducted to investigate the association of the PWV with metabolic syndrome. METHODS: Among 1438 persons who visited the Internal Medicine Clinic or Health Center of a general hospital in Seoul, Korea, 384 adults (age range: 30-69 years old) were selected as study subjects. Those patients with cardiovascular disease or other systemic disease were excluded, but the patients with hypertension and diabetes mellitus were included. Ninety four (25.4%) subjects were classified as patients with metabolic syndrome when jointly applying the WHO Asia-Pacific criteria and NCEP ATPIII criteria. RESULTS: The PWV was higher in the older aged group and in the men compared to the other group. The greater the number of diagnostic criteria of the metabolic syndrome subjects had, the higher was their PWV. After adjustment for age, gender, blood pressure, BMI and fasting blood glucose, a PWV change of 1.0 m/sec increased the risk of metabolic syndrome by 1.31 times (95% CI: 0.81-2.09). The risk of metabolic syndrome was 7.62 times higher among the subjects with a PWV greater than 7.5 m/sec (95% CI: 1.07-54.42), as compared with that of subjects with a PWV less than 7.5 m/sec. CONCLUSIONS: The PWV may independently increase the risk of metabolic syndrome as a non-linear pattern. A prospective study needs to be conducted to confirm the meaning of PWV as a risk factor for metabolic syndrome, and especially to determine the cut off point.