Background: Age-related changes in cardiac morphology and function have not been unknown in the elderly. The Japanese eLderly data Of Normal echocardioGraphy (J-LONG) study is a prospective multicenter cohort study and aimed to investigate the echocardiographic data in the healthy Japanese elderly.
Methods: Thirty domestic facilities participated in this study, and 130 healthy subjects (57 men, 73 women, 79.6 ± 4.7 years, range 75-98 years, interquartile range 76-82 years) were enrolled in this cohort. Echocardiographic and clinical data sets were obtained in each facility, and total analyses were performed in the University of Tsukuba.
Results: Almost all cardiac morphological data were significantly larger in men than those in women. However, corrected data by body surface area (BSA) were similar or closer between genders. As a gender difference, the negative correlation between BSA and age was observed in women only (r = - 0.46, p < 0.001), showing the independent determinant of women's left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV) was age (β = - 0.29, p = 0.01), but not BSA. In men, LVEDV was significantly correlated with BSA (β = 0.42, p = 0.001), but not with age (p = 0.10). Also, women had higher LV ejection fraction (70 ± 7.1 vs. 68 ± 4.9%, p = 0.02), lower E/A (0.67 ± 0.16 vs. 0.75 ± 0.21, p = 0.02), and higher E/e' (10 ± 2.7 vs. 8.9 ± 2.5, p = 0.03) as compared to men.
Conclusions: The J-LONG study suggested that correction by the physique was needed to interpret echocardiographic data of the elderly. Also, gender differences and age-related changes in cardiac morphology and function were observed, and further studies are needed to confirm the clinical significance.
Keywords: Cardiac function; Echocardiography; Elderly; Remodeling; Standard value.