The following is a summary of “Associations Between Life’s Essential 8 and Abdominal Aortic Calcification Among Middle‐Aged and Elderly Populations,” published in the December 2023 issue of Cardiology by Cai et al.
Abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) is a recognized risk factor for cardiovascular disease. This cross-sectional study, utilizing data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2013-2014), aimed to explore the relationship between Life’s Essential 8 (LE8), a recent metric of cardiovascular health (CVH), and AAC among individuals aged 40 years and above. Assessment of AAC was based on the Kauppila score system, with AAC scores >0 indicating AAC presence and >6 indicating severe AAC. Analysis involving 2369 participants revealed a mean AAC score of 1.41 (0.13).
Findings indicated that individuals with higher cardiovascular health exhibited lower AAC scores, a reduced prevalence of AAC, and a lower occurrence of severe AAC. After adjusting for various potential confounders (such as age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, marital status, income, and biochemical markers), stronger cardiovascular health demonstrated a significant association with a decreased risk of AAC. Notably, specific components within LE8, including nicotine exposure, blood glucose, and blood pressure scores, displayed notable associations with lower AAC risk, indicating nonlinear dose-response relationships. Subgroup analyses revealed similar inverse associations between LE8 and AAC across various demographic strata, emphasizing the importance of these cardiovascular health factors in middle-aged and older populations.
Source: ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.123.031146
