Adiposity-Related Predictors of Vascular Aging From a Life Course Perspective–Findings From the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study

The main objective of this study was to study predictors of vascular health with focus on adiposity-related factors. Glucose metabolism, blood lipids, inflammatory markers and body composition were assessed 15 years before assessment of vascular health which was assessed with pulse wave velocity (PWV) in 660 subjects born 1934–44. In a univariate analysis in women the strongest association with PWV was seen for age, systolic blood pressure, dysglycemia, dyslipidemia, inflammatory markers and body fat percentage measured in late midlife and PWV measured 15 years later. In men age, body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure, dysglycemia, and body fat percentage in late midlife were associated with PWV. One novel finding was that adiposity-related factors were strong predictors of vascular health, something not fully encapsulated in BMI, lean body mass or body fat percentage alone. A higher fat mass index was associated with worse vascular health, which was not ameliorated by a higher lean mass index. Our findings stress the importance to study body composition and fat and lean body mass simultaneously because of their close interaction with each other also in relation to vascular health.