Non-invasive measurement of brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity is associated with serum C-reactive protein but not with alpha-tocopherol in Japanese middle-aged male workers.

Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is an indicator of arterial stiffness, especially in the aorta, and a marker for vascular damage. We examined the association of brachial-ankle PWV (baPWV) with serum alpha-tocopherol and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in addition to the traditional risk factors. Study subjects were 178 Japanese male workers aged 50-59 without past histories of cardiovascular diseases. The relation of baPWV with serum alpha-tocopherol and CRP levels was cross-sectionally analyzed after adjusting for other cardiovascular risk factors. The arithmetic mean of serum alpha-tocopherol was 38.9 micromol/l, and the geometric mean of serum CRP was 0.47 mg/l. Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that serum CRP levels were associated with an elevation of baPWV, in addition to age, systolic blood pressure and heart rate. However, serum alpha-tocopherol, serum lipids (triglyceride, low and high density lipoprotein cholesterol), fasting plasma glucose, body mass index, smoking and alcohol drinking did not significantly correlate to baPWV. Multivariate-adjusted means of baPWV according to serum CRP quartile were 1,431, 1,436, 1,507 and 1,508 cm/s (p = 0.033). The serum CRP level might be an important marker for arterial stiffness in Japanese middle-aged males. However, no relation was observed between alpha-tocopherol and baPWV.