Association Between Glucose Metabolism And Vascular Aging In Chinese Adults: A Cross-Sectional Analysis In The Tianning Cohort Study

Clin Interv Aging. 2019 Nov 6:14:1937-1946. doi: 10.2147/CIA.S223690. eCollection 2019.

Abstract

Aim: Fasting glucose has been associated with vascular aging, but the association between HbA1c and vascular aging has been limitedly studied in Chinese and other ethnic populations. We aimed to examine this association in a large sample of Chinese adults.

Methods: In the Tianning Cohort (N=5142), fasting glucose, HbA1c, carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), and pulse pressure (PP) were measured. Vascular aging was defined as having the highest quartile level of cfPWV or PP. We applied quantile regression models to examine the association between glucose metabolism and vascular aging.

Results: The median cfPWV was significantly increased as increasing quintiles of fasting glucose (β=0.14, P<0.001) and HbA1c (β=0.07, P=0.0056), respectively. Per 1-mmol/L increment of fasting glucose was significantly associated with a higher risk of having vascular aging defined by cfPWV (OR=1.05, P=0.022), PP (OR=1.06, P=0.048), or either (OR=1.08, P=0.002). Similarly, per 1% increment of HbA1c was significantly associated with a higher risk of having vascular aging defined by cfPWV (OR=1.06, P=0.044), PP (OR=1.10, P=0.012), or either (OR=1.12, P=0.042).

Conclusion: Glucose metabolism was significantly and positively associated with vascular aging in Chinese adults, but the causality is uncertain.

Keywords: Chinese; fasting glucose; glucose metabolism; vascular aging.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Carotid Arteries / physiopathology*
  • Cohort Studies
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Female
  • Femoral Artery / physiopathology
  • Glucose / metabolism*
  • Glycated Hemoglobin / metabolism*
  • Heart Rate / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Pulse Wave Analysis / methods*
  • Risk Factors
  • Vascular Stiffness

Substances

  • Glycated Hemoglobin A
  • hemoglobin A1c protein, human
  • Glucose

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NO. 81872690 and 81903384), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (NO. BK20180841), and the Suzhou Science and Technology Project (NO. SS201853). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.