Analysis of 1.2 million smart scale users showed men had higher pulse wave velocity in early adulthood, but women had a steeper rate of arterial stiffening after the fifth decade (p<0.001).
Observational (n=1,196,712)
Yes
How do age, sex, and BMI impact arterial stiffness trajectories measured by pulse wave velocity in a large real-world population?
Large-scale real-world data from smart scales demonstrates a sex-dependent 'vascular aging crossover' in arterial stiffness, with women experiencing steeper increases in pulse wave velocity after their fifth decade.
p-value: p=<0.001
Introduction Arterial stiffness, measured by Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV), is a critical marker of cardiovascular risk. However, current reference values are often derived from limited clinical cohorts. This study aims to establish large-scale normative trajectories for PWV using real-world data. Methods We analyzed anonymized data from 38,648,329 measurements collected via Withings smart scales in 1 196 712 unique users (681719 men and 514993 women) between 2023 and 2024, across Japan, North America, and Europe. PWV was estimated using ballistocardiography coupled with impedancemetry. We applied multivariate quantile regression to assess the impact of age, sex, and BMI on PWV. Results There was a significant interaction between age and sex ( p 0.001 ). Men exhibited higher PWV values in early adulthood after adolescence compared to women. However, a distinct crossover was observed around the fifth decade of life, after which women displayed a steeper rate of arterial stiffening, eventually surpassing men. Age, sex and BMI were independently associated with PWV. Discussion This observational study provides the largest real-world dataset on PWV to date. The results illustrate in an observational way the sex dependent “vascular aging crossover” likely associated with hormonal change at adolescence and later menopause. This finding demonstrates the utility of connected devices in large-scale cardiovascular epidemiology.
Vittrant et al. (Thu,) conducted a observational in Arterial stiffness (n=1,196,712). Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV) measurement via smart scales vs. Men vs Women was evaluated on Interaction between age and sex on PWV trajectories (p=<0.001). Analysis of 1.2 million smart scale users showed men had higher pulse wave velocity in early adulthood, but women had a steeper rate of arterial stiffening after the fifth decade (p<0.001).