Usefulness of Brachial-Ankle Pulse Wave Velocity and Ankle-Brachial Index as Predictors of Early Age-Related Maculopathy

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Age-related maculopathy (ARM) is a major cause of blindness. For this reason, an early predictor of ARM is necessary for early detection and preventive therapy. The present study investigated arterial stiffness and stenosis using ankle brachial index (ABI) and pulse wave velocity (PWV) and analyzed whether arterial stiffness was affected by the extent of ARM. METHODS: A total of 257 randomized patients were enrolled in the present study. All participants underwent baPWV, ABI, blood pressure, total cholesterol, and triglyceride evaluation and were questioned regarding their history of smoking. The extent of ARM was expressed using Wisconsin ARM grading. RESULTS: Of the 257 patients, 29 were diagnosed with early ARM using Wisconsin ARM grading. The average age of the ARM group was 53 +/- 6.56 years and was significantly greater than the average 45.93 +/- 8.61 years in the non-ARM group. Other than ankle-brachial index, the clinical variables showed no significant differences after a refining process for age-related variables. Ankle-brachial index was significantly lower in the ARM group than it was in the non-ARM group (1.08 +/- 0.052, 1.12 +/- 0.051, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The ARM group showed significantly increased arterial stenosis. The present study provides a basis for the use of PWV in the early detection of ARM; however, longitudinal studies employing a larger population are required to determine the diagnostic and prognostic implications of PWV in ARM.