Family Patterns of Arterial Stiffness and Central Haemodynamics Across Three Generations in the Malmö Offspring Study

Objective: Measures of central haemodynamics have in recent years emerged as promising predictors of cardiovascular health and risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Central haemodynamics are affected early in the development of vascular aging and contributes to target organ damage. The aim is to study the association between patterns of central haemodynamics across three related generations, especially for carotid-femroal pulse wave velocity (cfPWV).Design and method: This population-based, observational study include in total 1131 participants from the Malmö Diet Cancer Study and the Malmö Offspring Study. cfPWV was measured (Sphygmocor®, AtCor) in grandparents and in all offspring. Correlation analyses of cfPWV and Augmentation Index (Aix) between generations. Parents and grandparents were stratified into quartiles by cfPWV. Offspring cfPWV and central systolic blood pressure (cSBP) means were compared with one-way ANOVA analyses. Multiple regression analyses were conducted and adjusted for age, sex, BMI, systolic BP and fasting glucose. Results: cfPWV in offspring was positively correlated with cfPWV in parents (r = 0.26, p < 0.001) and in grandparents (r = 0.29, p < 0.001). Offspring cfPWV correlated significantly with parental AIx and cSBP. Parents with high cfPWV had offspring with significantly higher means of cfPWV and cSBP than parents with low cfPWV. Conclusions: Measures of arterial stiffness and central haemodynamic are positively correlated across three generations in a population-based study. This calls for further studies to elucidate on these family traits, i.e. genetic and non-genetic factors.