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Relationships of mitral annular calcification to cardiovascular risk factors: the Multi-Ethnic Study of

Somsupha Kanjanauthai1, Khurram Nasir, Ronit Katz

  • 1Division of Cardiology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA, United States.

Atherosclerosis
|October 8, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Mitral annular calcification (MAC) is linked to cardiovascular disease risk factors. Age, female gender, diabetes mellitus, and increased body mass index are significantly associated with MAC prevalence.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Epidemiology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Mitral annular calcification (MAC) is a degenerative calcification of the mitral valve.
  • The association between MAC and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors requires further definition.
  • The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) provides a valuable dataset for investigating these relationships.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine which cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors are independently associated with Mitral Annular Calcification (MAC).
  • To analyze the prevalence of MAC across different ethnic groups within the MESA cohort.
  • To identify demographic and clinical predictors of MAC.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional study utilizing data from 6814 participants in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).
  • Mitral annular calcification (MAC) assessed by cardiac computed tomography.
  • Multivariable logistic regression analysis employed to evaluate associations between MAC and CVD risk factors.

Main Results:

  • Overall MAC prevalence was 9%, with variations across ethnic groups (Caucasians 12%, Hispanics 10%, African Americans 7%, Chinese 5%).
  • Factors significantly associated with MAC included older age, female gender, increased body mass index (BMI), and former smoking status.
  • The MAC group exhibited higher prevalence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus (DM), and family history of heart attack.

Conclusions:

  • Age, female gender, diabetes mellitus (DM), and increased body mass index (BMI) are significantly associated with Mitral Annular Calcification (MAC).
  • The prevalence of MAC demonstrates a strong association with female gender and increasing age across all studied ethnicities.
Abstract

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