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The association of left ventricular mass with blood pressure, cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption; data from
John R Payne1, Laurence E James, Kyriacos I Eleftheriou
1Centre for Cardiovascular Genetics, BHF Laboratories, Royal Free and University College Medical School, 5 University Street, London, UK.
Insights
Lifestyle factors like weight, physical activity, and blood pressure influence left ventricular mass in young men. Unexpectedly, smoking was linked to lower left ventricular mass in this healthy cohort.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Physiology
- Public Health
Background:
- Elevated left ventricular mass is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
- Research on left ventricular mass factors often focuses on elderly or diseased populations, with limited data on young, healthy individuals.
- Understanding determinants of left ventricular mass in young, healthy populations is crucial for early cardiovascular risk assessment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of lifestyle factors on left ventricular mass in a large cohort of young, healthy men.
- To identify predictors of left ventricular mass in this specific demographic.
Main Methods:
- Cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) was used to assess left ventricular mass in 541 healthy Caucasian male army recruits.
- Data collected included anthropometric measurements, lifestyle habits (alcohol consumption, smoking), and blood pressure readings.
- Statistical analyses, including univariate and multivariate models, were employed to determine associations.
Main Results:
- Factors positively associated with left ventricular mass included age, height, weight, alcohol consumption, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and physical activity indices.
- Current smokers exhibited lower mean left ventricular mass compared to never smokers and ex-smokers (P=0.007).
- Multivariate analysis identified weight, systolic blood pressure, smoking status, and physical activity indices as independent predictors of left ventricular mass.
Conclusions:
- The study confirms associations between age, body weight, height, physical activity, and blood pressure with left ventricular mass in young men.
- An unexpected finding was the association of smoking with lower left ventricular mass, warranting further investigation due to potential confounding factors.
- These findings highlight the importance of lifestyle modifications and provide novel insights into factors influencing cardiac structure in young adults.
Background:
Left ventricular mass is a risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Although factors associated with elevated left ventricular mass have been sought and studied extensively in elderly and in diseased subjects, few studies have examined the young and healthy. The aim of this study was to examine the possible influence of lifestyle on left ventricular mass in a large group of young men.
Methods:
Left ventricular mass was assessed using cardiovascular magnetic resonance in 541 healthy Caucasian male army recruits. Anthropometric, lifestyle and blood pressure data were collected.
Results:
Mean unadjusted left ventricular mass and left ventricular mass indexed to body surface area were 163.8+/-24.9 g and 86.6+/-10.2 g m(-2) respectively. In univariate analysis, age, height, weight, alcohol consumption, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and indices of physical activity were positively associated with unadjusted left ventricular mass (all P<0.02). By contrast, smoking was associated with lower mean left ventricular mass; never smoked 167.5+/-25.8 g vs ex-smokers 159.1+/-25.2 g vs current smokers 161.0+/-23.1 g (P=0.007). Multivariate analysis revealed weight, systolic blood pressure, smoking status and indices of physical activity to be independent predictors of left ventricular mass.
Conclusions:
Our data confirm an association of age, body weight, height, physical activity, diastolic and systolic blood pressure with left ventricular mass. In addition, unexpectedly, we have found smoking is associated with lower left ventricular mass in a large sample of young healthy men. Although the latter association may result from confounding effects, such an interesting observation deserves further investigation.
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