Post-challenge hyperglycaemia is an independent risk factor for arterial stiffness in Japanese men

Arterial stiffness is an independent predictor of cardiovascular disease, but the impact of post-challenge hyperglycaemia on arterial stiffness is unknown. To investigate the association between arterial stiffness and post-challenge hyperglycaemia, we measured the second derivative of photoplethysmogram as an indicator of arterial stiffness.

This study was done in 159 asymptomatic Japanese men aged 50.7 +/- 13.0 years. All subjects underwent a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test and measurement of the second derivative of photoplethysmogram.

According to the World Health Organization criteria (1998), 110 subjects had normal glucose tolerance, 10 had impaired fasting glucose, 30 had impaired glucose tolerance, and nine had diabetes. The b/a ratio (an index of arterial stiffness) showed a significant relationship with age (r = 0.58, P < 0.0001), height (r = -0.33, P < 0.0001), 2-h post-challenge glucose (r = 0.32, P < 0.0001), systolic blood pressure (r = 0.22, P = 0.006), and diastolic blood pressure (r = 0.21, P = 0.009). After adjustment for age and height, there were significant correlations between the b/a ratio and diastolic blood pressure (r = 0.18, P = 0.02), fasting glucose (r = 0.16, P = 0.049), and 2-h post-challenge glucose (r = 0.21, P = 0.009). Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that only age (beta= 0.006, SE = 0.0007, P < 0.001) and 2-h post-challenge glucose (beta = 0.0005, SE = 0.0002, P < 0.05) contributed significantly to the b/a ratio (adjusted R(2) = 0.38).

These results indicate that post-challenge hyperglycaemia is an independent risk factor for arterial stiffness.