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Calcification of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells and Imaging of Aortic Calcification and Inflammation
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Calcification of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells and Imaging of Aortic Calcification and Inflammation

Published on: May 31, 2016

Quantitative assessment of abdominal aortic calcification and associations with lumbar intervertebral disc height

Pradeep Suri1, David J Hunter, James Rainville

  • 1VA Boston Healthcare System, Division of PM&R, 150 S. Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02130, USA. pradeep.suri@va.gov

The Spine Journal : Official Journal of the North American Spine Society
|May 8, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Vascular disease, marked by abdominal aortic calcification (AAC), is linked to disc height loss (DHL). However, this association is primarily explained by age, sex, and body mass index, not cardiovascular risk factors.

Area of Science:

  • Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
  • Cardiovascular Health
  • Radiology and Imaging

Background:

  • Vascular disease is a potential contributor to disc height loss (DHL).
  • Abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) serves as a marker for systemic vascular disease.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between quantitative measures of AAC and DHL using computed tomography (CT).

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional study involving 435 participants from the Framingham Heart Study.
  • AAC was quantified by CT and categorized into "no," "low," and "high" calcification tertiles.
  • DHL was assessed using CT reformations and dichotomized as moderate (at least one level L2-S1) versus no/less than moderate.

Main Results:

  • Crude analyses revealed a strong association between low/high AAC and DHL (ORs 2.05-2.24).
  • This relationship persisted independently of traditional cardiovascular risk factors like diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, and smoking.
  • After adjusting for age, sex, and BMI, the association between AAC and DHL was significantly attenuated (low AAC OR 1.20, high AAC OR 0.74).

Conclusions:

  • Abdominal aortic calcification is associated with disc height loss in a community-based cohort.
  • The observed association between AAC and DHL is independent of common cardiovascular risk factors.
  • Age, sex, and body mass index appear to be the primary drivers explaining the relationship between AAC and DHL.
Abstract

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