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Impact of age and sex on carotid and peripheral arterial wall thickness in humans
Author(s) -
van den Munckhof I.,
Scholten R.,
Cable N. T.,
Hopman M. T. E.,
Green D. J.,
Thijssen D. H. J.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
acta physiologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.591
H-Index - 116
eISSN - 1748-1716
pISSN - 1748-1708
DOI - 10.1111/j.1748-1716.2012.02457.x
Subject(s) - medicine , lumen (anatomy) , brachial artery , carotid arteries , popliteal artery , peripheral , femoral artery , cardiology , artery , arterial wall , ultrasound , anatomy , radiology , blood pressure
Abstract Background Although previous studies have reported age‐related wall thickening in carotid arteries, it is not clear whether this is a systemic phenomenon which is also apparent in peripheral conduit arteries or whether conduit wall thickness ( WT ) changes occur to a similar degree in men and women. Aim To determine whether sex modifies the impact of ageing on WT or wall‐to‐lumen ratio (W:L) in atherosclerosis‐prone (i.e. carotid artery, femoral, superficial femoral, popliteal artery) and atherosclerosis‐resistant (i.e. brachial artery) conduit arteries. Methods We included 30 young (23 ± 2 year; 15M : 15F) and 31 older (70 ± 5 year; 18M : 13F) healthy subjects. High‐resolution ultrasound was used to measure diameter, WT and wall‐to‐lumen ratio (W/L) in all arteries. Results Older subjects had increased WT and W/L in the carotid, femoral, superficial femoral, popliteal and brachial arteries (all P < 0.05). Compared with women, men demonstrated larger diameter and WT (both P < 0.01) across all arteries. Sex did not impact upon age‐related changes in WT or W/L ( P = 0.39 and 0.43 respectively). Conclusion Our data suggest that age‐related wall thickening, evident in the carotid artery, is also apparent in the arteries of the upper and lower limbs. The impact of age on wall thickening did not differ between men and women. These data support the presence of systemic increases in WT and W/L with age in apparently healthy humans, independent of sex.