A NEW COMPLEX MARKER FOR ELEVATED ARTERIAL STIFFNES ESTIMATION

Age is one of the well known strongest risk factors of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). At the same time, vessel age or arterial wall stiffness is one of the major determinants of so called biological age. Aim of the study was basing on the earlier obtained data to create a new complex marker for non-invasive estimation of elevated arterial stiffness. Material and methods. Totally 202 subjects (33.2 % men) aged 25–75, who according to ambulatory check-up at the National Research center for Preventive Medicine were free of atherosclerosis-related diseases, were included into the study. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) > 10 m/s was used as a measure of arterial stiffness. Blood biochemical parameters were measured by standard methods. Results. Preliminary analysis of mathematical models including various biochemical markers and clinical parameters allowed us to select the most significant variables associated with PWV: blood pressure (both systolic and diastolic, SBP and DBP, respectively), body mass index (BMI), triglyceride (TG), and C-peptide content. ROC-analysis gave their optimal cut-off points: SBP/DBP > 120/75 mm Hg; BMI > 26.3 kg/m2; blood plasma TG content > 1.0 mmol/l; C-peptide content > 1.67 ng/ml. These variables were combined as a complex marker (CM). A special score was generated: if any of these parameters exceeded the threshold value, it was assigned 1 point. It turned out that the combination of at least two variables indicates an elevated arterial stiffness. Analytical characteristics of CM were determined. Conclusion. To estimate the probability to have elevated arterial stiffness, indicating on accelerated biological ageing, a new biomarker was created with the sensitivity of 82.7 %, specificity – 62.3 %, and correct prognosis of 71.6 %.