Handgrip strength and subclinical carotid atherosclerosis in relation to platelet levels among hypertensive elderly Japanese

// Yuji Shimizu 1,2 , Shimpei Sato 1 , Jun Koyamatsu 3 , Hirotomo Yamanashi 3 , Mako Nagayoshi 1 , Koichiro Kadota 1 , Shin-Ya Kawashiri 1 , Keita Inoue 1 , Yasuhiro Nagata 4 and Takahiro Maeda 1,3 1 Department of Community Medicine, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan 2 Department of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, Osaka Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, Osaka, Japan 3 Department of Island and Community Medicine, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan 4 Center for Comprehensive Community Care Education, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan Correspondence to: Yuji Shimizu, email: // Keywords : atherosclerosis, handgrip, hypertension, platelet, sarcopenia, Gerotarget Received : June 21, 2017 Accepted : August 16, 2017 Published : September 01, 2017 Abstract Age-related disruption of microvascular endothelium exacerbates hypertension and sarcopenia; and atherosclerosis is a well-known biological response to vascular endothelial injury. Therefore, prevalence of atherosclerosis among hypertensive elderly subjects may partly indicate the presence of an appropriate response to endothelial injury. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 795 elderly hypertensive Japanese subjects aged 60-89 years. Since platelet level is an indicator of vascular repair activity, subjects were stratified by platelet counts. No significant association between handgrip strength and subclinical carotid atherosclerosis (carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) ≥1.1mm) was observed for subjects with lower platelet counts, while a significant positive association was observed for subjects with higher platelets. Adjusted odds and 95% confidence intervals of subclinical carotid atherosclerosis for 1 standard deviation increments in handgrip strength were 0.86 (0.61, 1.22) for subjects with lower platelets and 1.82 (1.26, 2.64) for subjects with higher platelets. A positive association between handgrip strength and subclinical carotid atherosclerosis exists in hypertensive elderly subjects with higher, but not lower, platelet counts. These results lead us to speculate that subjects with a beneficial influence on prevention of sarcopenia (maintenance of handgrip strength) may possess the capacity of active endothelial repair that causes atherosclerosis.