What question did this study set out to answer?

To evaluate the relationship between arterial stiffness, aging, objective physical functioning, and self-reported functional limitations.

March 29, 2011HypertensionOpen Access

Arterial Stiffness, Physical Function, and Functional Limitation

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Population

5,392 men and women aged 55 to 78 years.

Design

Cross-sectional

Authors

EBEric J. BrunnerSemmelweis University MSMartin J. ShipleyPreventive Cardiology DWDaniel R. WittePreventive Cardiology

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

May signal early functional decline in older adults; hypothesis-generating, should not yet change practice.

Key Points

To evaluate the relationship between arterial stiffness, aging, objective physical functioning, and self-reported functional limitations.
Assessed aortic pulse wave velocity using applanation tonometry in 5,392 men and women aged 55 to 78 years.
Measured physical capability via an 8.00-ft (2.44-m) walking speed test, spirometry lung function, and questionnaires on health functioning and daily living activities.
Arterial stiffness increased with age (mean difference per decade: men, 1.37 m/s [SE 0.06]; women, 1.39 m/s [SE 0.10]), remaining robust after adjusting for blood pressure and chronic disease.
A 1-SD increase in arterial stiffness was associated with slower walking speed (-0.96 [95% CI: -1.29 to -0.64] m/s), lower physical component scores (-0.91 [95% CI: -1.21 to -0.60]), and poorer lung function (-1.23 [95% CI: -1.53 to -0.92] L) after adjusting for age, sex, and ethnicity.

Structured PICO

Population

5,392 men and women aged 55 to 78 years.

Outcome

Associations of arterial stiffness with age, subjective and objective measures of physical functioning (8.00-ft walking speed test, spirometry lung function test), and self-reported functional limitation (health functioning and activities of daily living questionnaires).surrogate

Arterial stiffness is a robust correlate of physical decline and functional limitation in early old age, supporting its role as an indicator of vascular aging.

Cite This Study

Brunner et al. (2011) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a7ac2aef8c4f08607028e6e https://doi.org/10.1161/hypertensionaha.110.168864

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