ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the value of brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) in the prediction of hypertension in middle-aged men with prehypertension.Methods A total of 2580 middle-aged (35 to 55 years old ) prehypertensive individuals who underwent health check-up during September 2006 and December 2007 in our hospital were recruited for this prospective cohort study.After a 4-year follow-up,2451subjects entered final analysis.Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the value of baPWV in the prediction of hypertension.Results(1) Two hundred and eight subjects (8.5％ )developed hypertension after 4-year follow-up study.( 2 ) At baseline,no significant differences of family history of hypertension,heart rate and total cholesterol were found between normotensive and hypertensive subjects (P ＞0.05 ).(3) Logistic regression analysis showed that in age-adjusted model (Model1),the odds ratio (OR) and 95％ confidence interval (CI) of baPWV (140 cm/s) was 2.20 (1.78 to 2.62 )( P ＜0.01) ; while in multi-factor adjusted model ( Model 3 ),OR and 95c％c CI of baPWV was I.49 (1.15 to 1.73) (P ＜ 0.01).(4) Subjects were stratified by quartiles of baPWV at baseline.OR and 95％ CI of hypertension in those of highest quartile was higher than those of lowest quartile ( Model1:OR =10.9,95％CI 5.1-22.7,P＜0.01; Model 3:0R=2.6,95％CI1.2 -6.1,P＜0.05).Conclusion baPWV could be an independent predictor of hypertension among prehypertensive populations.