ABSTRACT
To determine the association between carotid femoral pulse wave velocity PWV[CF] and augmentation index [AI] with future cardiovascular disease [CVD] risk, and to assess whether high sensitivity C-reactive protein [hs-CRP] is an important mediator towards these vascular changes, among young men. This cross-sectional study was conducted at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from July 2011 to December 2012. Two hundred and eleven young men were recruited. The PWV[CF] and AI were measured using Vicorder. High sensitivity C-reactive protein was measured by using immunological methods. The future CVD risk was assessed by Framingham risk score [FRS] and age adjusted FRS [A-FRS]. Data for analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 15 [SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA]. The mean age of the subjects was 27.09 [95% confidence intervals [CI] 26.39-27.79] years old. Those with >/-2 risk factors had significantly higher AI [10.09 [95% CI: 9.06-11.12] versus 6.56 [95% CI: 5.54-7.57] [p=0.001], but not PWV[CF] 7.45 [95% CI: 7.29-7.61] m/s versus 7.29 [95% CI: 7.06-7.51] m/s, [p=0.90] when compared to the healthy subjects. High sensitivity C-reactive protein was not an independent determinant for PWVCF and AI. Only AI was significantly associated with FRS and A-FRS [p=0.0001]. To assess the impact of risk factors on vascular damage and for future assessment of CVD risk among the young men, AI may be a better marker than PWVCF. The increase in AI among these subjects was not related to hs-CRP