Lund University Publications

Sex- and country-specific associations of hyperuricemia and inflammation with vascular aging across populations with diverse cardiovascular risks

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Laučytė-Cibulskienė, Agnė ^LU ; Badarienė, Jolita ; Costa-Muñoz, José Antonio ; Nilsson, Christopher ^LU ; Glaveckaitė, Sigita ; Christensson, Anders ^LU ; Salar-Ibáñez, Luis ; Rinkūnienė, Egidija ; Engström, Gunnar ^LU and Berankytė, Ieva , et al.

Abstract

Introduction: The importance of measuring vascular age has been emphasized in numerous studies, highlighting its critical role in precision medicine. This cross-sectional heterogeneity exploration study examined sex- and country-specific association of serum uric acid (SUA) and inflammation, measured as high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and vascular aging across populations with diverse cardiovascular risks. Methods: This work analyzed data from three cohorts: 4,802 individuals from Sweden (SCAPIS – The Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study, n = 3,255), Lithuania (LitHiR – The Lithuanian High Cardiovascular Risk Prevention Program, n = 708), and Spain (The Sagunto Cohort, n = 838). Standard clinical and laboratory variables... (More)

Introduction: The importance of measuring vascular age has been emphasized in numerous studies, highlighting its critical role in precision medicine. This cross-sectional heterogeneity exploration study examined sex- and country-specific association of serum uric acid (SUA) and inflammation, measured as high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and vascular aging across populations with diverse cardiovascular risks. Methods: This work analyzed data from three cohorts: 4,802 individuals from Sweden (SCAPIS – The Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study, n = 3,255), Lithuania (LitHiR – The Lithuanian High Cardiovascular Risk Prevention Program, n = 708), and Spain (The Sagunto Cohort, n = 838). Standard clinical and laboratory variables were used; aortic stiffness measured via carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) (Sphygmocor), employing the foot-to-foot method in the right carotid and femoral arteries. In addition. Sex disaggregated analysis was performed. Results: The study involved individuals with a mean age of 56 (±8) years, 53% women, 48% never smokers, 41% with hypertension, and 20% with diabetes. In adjusted for cardiometabolic factors linear models, hs-CRP was associated with cfPWV only in Swedish men (p = 0.007), while SUA was associated with cfPWV in Swedish men (p = 0.001) and Lithuanian women (p = 0.029). In logistic regression, SUA predicted higher odds of cfPWV >10 m/s in Swedish men (OR 1.003, p = 0.041), and in Lithuanian women this prediction was of borderline significance (OR 1.004, p = 0.065). In Spanish women, the association with SUA was negative and of borderline significance (OR 0.995, p = 0.067). hs-CRP was not associated with cfPWV >10 m/s in adjusted models. Conclusion: This cross-sectional exploratory study provides evidence that SUA and hs-CRP are associated with vascular aging, although their predictive value should be interpreted in a sex- and country-specific context.

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