TY - JOUR
T1 - Continuing smoking between adolescence and young adulthood is associated with higher arterial stiffness in young adults: the Northern Ireland Young Hearts Project
AU - van de Laar, Roel J. J.
AU - Stehouwer, Coen D. A.
AU - Boreham, Colin A.
AU - Murray, Liam M.
AU - Schalkwijk, Casper G.
AU - Prins, Martin H.
AU - Twisk, Jos W R
AU - Ferreira, Isabel
PY - 2011/11
Y1 - 2011/11
N2 - Objectives To investigate the associations between smoking in adolescence and adulthood, and changes in smoking behaviour between these age periods, with arterial stiffness in young adults; and whether any such associations could be explained by concomitant smoking-related levels of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. Methods We studied 424 individuals (216 women) in whom smoking status was assessed in adolescence (age 15 years) and again in young adulthood (mean age of 22.6 +/- 1.6 years), along with aorto-iliac, aorto-radial, and aorto-dorsalis pedis pulse wave velocity (PWV), and markers of inflammation (i.e. C-reactive protein and fibrinogen) and endothelial dysfunction (i.e. von Willebrand factor and tissue-plasminogen activator antigen) in young adulthood only. Results Smoking in adolescence was associated with higher aorto-iliac PWV, as well as with inflammation and endothelial dysfunction levels (expressed as two scores), independently of other adolescent and adult lifestyles. Compared with never smokers, continuing smokers, but not starters nor quitters, showed higher aorto-iliac PWV, independent of changes in other lifestyle variables: +0.157 m/s (95% confidence interval 0.026-0.288). This difference was attenuated to 0.124 m/s (-0.009 to 0.257) after adjustment for changes in traditional biological risk factors, but was not materially affected when adjusted for the inflammation and endothelial dysfunction scores, despite the continuing smoking-related higher levels of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. Smoking was not associated with aorto-radial and aorto-dorsalis pedis PWV. Conclusion Starting to smoke in adolescence and continuing to do so up to young adulthood is adversely associated with aortic stiffness. The continuing smoking-related aortic stiffness was not explained by concomitant higher inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. Prevention of smoking should target the young to prevent arterial stiffness in young adults. J Hypertens 29:2201-2209
AB - Objectives To investigate the associations between smoking in adolescence and adulthood, and changes in smoking behaviour between these age periods, with arterial stiffness in young adults; and whether any such associations could be explained by concomitant smoking-related levels of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. Methods We studied 424 individuals (216 women) in whom smoking status was assessed in adolescence (age 15 years) and again in young adulthood (mean age of 22.6 +/- 1.6 years), along with aorto-iliac, aorto-radial, and aorto-dorsalis pedis pulse wave velocity (PWV), and markers of inflammation (i.e. C-reactive protein and fibrinogen) and endothelial dysfunction (i.e. von Willebrand factor and tissue-plasminogen activator antigen) in young adulthood only. Results Smoking in adolescence was associated with higher aorto-iliac PWV, as well as with inflammation and endothelial dysfunction levels (expressed as two scores), independently of other adolescent and adult lifestyles. Compared with never smokers, continuing smokers, but not starters nor quitters, showed higher aorto-iliac PWV, independent of changes in other lifestyle variables: +0.157 m/s (95% confidence interval 0.026-0.288). This difference was attenuated to 0.124 m/s (-0.009 to 0.257) after adjustment for changes in traditional biological risk factors, but was not materially affected when adjusted for the inflammation and endothelial dysfunction scores, despite the continuing smoking-related higher levels of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. Smoking was not associated with aorto-radial and aorto-dorsalis pedis PWV. Conclusion Starting to smoke in adolescence and continuing to do so up to young adulthood is adversely associated with aortic stiffness. The continuing smoking-related aortic stiffness was not explained by concomitant higher inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. Prevention of smoking should target the young to prevent arterial stiffness in young adults. J Hypertens 29:2201-2209
KW - adolescence
KW - arterial stiffness
KW - epidemiology
KW - lifestyle
KW - smoking
KW - young adulthood
U2 - 10.1097/HJH.0b013e32834b0ecf
DO - 10.1097/HJH.0b013e32834b0ecf
M3 - Article
C2 - 21897293
SN - 0263-6352
VL - 29
SP - 2201
EP - 2209
JO - Journal of Hypertension
JF - Journal of Hypertension
IS - 11
ER -