Baissary Jhony, Koberssy Ziad, Durieux Jared C, Atieh Ornina, Daher Joviane, Ailstock Kate, Labbato Danielle, Foster Theresa, Rodgers Michael A, Merheb Alexander, Funderburg Nicholas T, McComsey Grace A
School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
Clinical Research Center, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
Viruses. 2025 Mar 11;17(3):394. doi: 10.3390/v17030394.
Data are limited for assessing the effect of COVID infection on endothelial function, pre- and post-pandemic. The objective of this study was to assess changes in pre-pandemic cardiovascular parameters after COVID-19 infection. This prospective cohort study used EndoPAT2000 Itamar Medical Ltd., Caesarea, Israel, to measure the augmentation index (AI; arterial elasticity) and reactive hyperemic index (RHI; endothelial function). Markers of endothelial function, inflammation, and gut integrity were collected at pre- and post-pandemic visits. COVID-negative and COVID-positive participants were matched on pre-pandemic covariates, and AI ≥ 5.0 was defined as having worse AI. Among the 156 participants, 50% had documented COVID-19 infection. Groups were balanced ( > 0.05) on pre-pandemic characteristics. Increases in oxLDL ( = 0.03) were observed in the COVID-positive group, and COVID infection had a negative effect on inflammatory markers (sVCAM-1, sTNF-RI, sTNF-RII, sCD14) and gut integrity (I-FABP, BDG) compared to COVID-negative participants ( < 0.05). There was a 16.7% ( = 0.02) increase in the proportion of COVID-positive participants with AI ≥ 5.0, without a significant change ( = 0.09) among the COVID-negative group. COVID-positive status, female sex, and higher IL-6 and sCD163 were associated ( < 0.05) with an increase in having worse AI. COVID infection is independently associated with arterial stiffness. For COVID survivors, female sex and higher markers of inflammation were associated with arterial stiffness.
关于评估新冠疫情前后新冠病毒感染对内皮功能影响的数据有限。本研究的目的是评估新冠病毒感染后疫情前心血管参数的变化。这项前瞻性队列研究使用以色列凯撒利亚的伊塔马尔医疗有限公司生产的EndoPAT2000来测量增强指数（AI；动脉弹性）和反应性充血指数（RHI；内皮功能）。在疫情前后的访视中收集内皮功能、炎症和肠道完整性的标志物。根据疫情前的协变量对新冠病毒阴性和阳性参与者进行匹配，AI≥5.0被定义为AI较差。在156名参与者中，50%有新冠病毒感染的记录。两组在疫情前的特征上是平衡的（P>0.05）。在新冠病毒阳性组中观察到氧化型低密度脂蛋白（oxLDL）升高（P = 0.03），与新冠病毒阴性参与者相比，新冠病毒感染对炎症标志物（可溶性血管细胞黏附分子-1、可溶性肿瘤坏死因子受体I、可溶性肿瘤坏死因子受体II、可溶性CD14）和肠道完整性（肠脂肪酸结合蛋白、β-葡聚糖）有负面影响（P<0.05）。AI≥5.0的新冠病毒阳性参与者比例增加了16.7%（P = 0.02），而新冠病毒阴性组没有显著变化（P = 0.09）。新冠病毒阳性状态、女性性别以及较高的白细胞介素-6和可溶性CD163与AI较差的增加相关（P<0.05）。新冠病毒感染与动脉僵硬独立相关。对于新冠病毒幸存者，女性性别和较高的炎症标志物与动脉僵硬相关。
