Association of Lower Serum Sclerostin Levels With Elevated Risk for Increased Arterial Stiffness: The JPOS Cohort Study.

CONTEXT

Studies on the relationship between serum sclerostin, a Wnt/β-catenin pathway inhibitor, and atherosclerosis have yielded inconsistent results.

OBJECTIVE

We aim to longitudinally investigate the relationship between serum sclerostin levels and the risk of increased arterial stiffness in Japanese community-dwelling women from the Japanese Population-based Osteoporosis Study (JPOS).

METHODS

Of 1044 women aged ≥ 50 years whose brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) value was available in a baseline survey in 2011-2012, we excluded 374 whose baPWV values were ≥ 1800 cm/s, set as the cutoff for increased arterial stiffness, and 8 with missing data. Of the remaining 662 women, 556 participated in the 4- to 5-year follow-up study and were included in the analysis. The coefficient of variation of the sclerostin measurement was 3.45%. We obtained odds ratios (ORs) for sclerostin at baseline, categorized by tertiles, with the high tertile as reference for increased arterial stiffness.

RESULTS

Increased arterial stiffness occurred in 94 women during a mean follow-up of 4.0 years. The increased arterial stiffness rates in the low, medium, and high tertiles were 22.2%, 16.1%, and 12.4%, respectively (trend test P = .013). The ORs for the medium and low tertiles for increased arterial stiffness were 1.58 (P = .205) and 2.16 (P = .027), respectively, after adjusting for age and baseline baPWV. After further adjustment for baseline body mass index, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, estimated glomerular filtration rate, and whole-body bone mineral content, the ORs for the medium and low tertiles were 1.65 (P = .181) and 2.50 (P = .014), respectively.

CONCLUSION

Lower serum sclerostin levels were associated with elevated risks for increased arterial stiffness in Japanese community-dwelling women.