Relationship between sum of the four limbs' pulse pressure and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity and atherosclerosis risk factors in Chinese adults.

The aim of the present study was to analyze the relationship between the sum of the four limbs' pulse pressure (Sum-PP) and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and atherosclerosis risk factors and evaluate the feasibility of Sum-PP in diagnosing atherosclerosis systemically. For the purpose, a cross-sectional study was conducted on the basis of medical information of 20748 adults who had a health examination in our hospital. Both Sum-PP and baPWV exhibited significant variations among different human populations grouped by gender, smoking, drinking, and age. Interestingly, Sum-PP had similar varying tendency with baPWV in different populations. And further study in different populations showed that Sum-PP was significantly positively related to baPWV. We also investigated the relationship between Sum-PP, baPWV, and cardiovascular risk factors, respectively. We found that both Sum-PP and baPWV had significant positive correlation with atherosclerosis risk factors while both of them were negatively related to HDL-c. In addition, there was a significant close correlation between Sum-PP and baPWV in the whole population (r = 0.4616, P < 0.0001). Thus, Sum-PP is closely related to baPWV and is of important value for clinical diagnosis of atherosclerosis.