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A new method for vascular age estimation based on relative risk difference in vascular aging
Qingfeng Tang1, Shiping Liu2, Chao Tao2
1School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China; The University Key Laboratory of Intelligent Perception and Computing of Anhui Province, Anqing Normal University, Anqing 246133, China; Anhui Engineering Research Center of Intelligent Perception and Elderly Care, Chuzhou University, Chuzhou 239000, China.
Insights
This study introduces a new method for estimating vascular age (VA) that accounts for individual differences in vascular aging (IDVA). The novel approach improves cardiovascular disease risk assessment, particularly for younger individuals.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Health
- Biomedical Engineering
- Gerontology
Background:
- Current vascular age (VA) estimation models rely on chronological age (CA), failing to capture individual differences in vascular aging (IDVA).
- This limitation can lead to inaccurate cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk assessments.
- A more personalized approach to VA estimation is needed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel method for estimating VA that incorporates IDVA.
- To provide a more accurate assessment of cardiovascular disease risk by addressing limitations of CA-based VA models.
Main Methods:
- Introduced Relative Risk Difference in Vascular Aging (RRDVA) to quantify IDVA.
- Developed a regression model using CA and two key arteriosclerosis indicators to predict individual PA.
- Integrated RRDVA and CA as factors to determine the new VA.
Main Results:
- The proposed VA, based on RRDVA, showed significant correlations with 27 indirect vascular aging indicators.
- VA demonstrated superior correlation with these indicators compared to CA.
- An RRDVA greater than zero indicated an elevated risk of disease.
Conclusions:
- The new VA estimation method effectively overcomes the limitations of CA in characterizing IDVA.
- This improved VA assessment can aid in identifying high-risk individuals, including younger populations.
- Promoting healthy behaviors among at-risk groups can be facilitated by more accurate VA.
Objective:
The current models of estimating vascular age (VA) primarily rely on the regression label expressed with chronological age (CA), which does not account individual differences in vascular aging (IDVA) that are difficult to describe by CA. This may lead to inaccuracies in assessing the risk of cardiovascular disease based on VA. To address this limitation, this work aims to develop a new method for estimating VA by considering IDVA. This method will provide a more accurate assessment of cardiovascular disease risk.
Methods:
Relative risk difference in vascular aging (RRDVA) is proposed to replace IDVA, which is represented as the numerical difference between individual predicted age (PA) and the corresponding mean PA of healthy population. RRDVA and CA are regard as the influence factors to acquire VA. In order to acquire PA of all samples, this work takes CA as the dependent variable, and mines the two most representative indicators from arteriosclerosis data as the independent variables, to establish a regression model for obtaining PA.
Results:
The proposed VA based on RRDVA is significantly correlated with 27 indirect indicators for vascular aging evaluation. Moreover, VA is better than CA by comparing the correlation coefficients between VA, CA and 27 indirect indicators, and RRDVA greater than zero presents a higher risk of disease.
Conclusion:
The proposed VA overcomes the limitation of CA in characterizing IDVA, which may help young groups with high disease risk to promote healthy behaviors.
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