Do Peritoneal Dialysis Patients with Increased Vascular Stiffness Measured by Pulse Wave Velocity Have Reduced Bone Mineral Density Measured with Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry?

INTRODUCTION

Vascular stiffness and osteoporosis are independently associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity. We investigated the relationship between pulse wave velocity (aoPWV), a measure of vascular stiffness, and bone mineral density (BMD) in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients.

METHODS

AoPWV was measured in patients who had dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans.

RESULTS

The mean aoPWV was 9.9 ± 0.2 m/s in 113 established PD patients (59.3% male; mean age 64.1 ± 15.3 years. AoPWV was negatively associated with whole body T score r = -0.24, p = 0.016, and Z score r = -0.23, p = 0.021, total body BMD, r = 0.21, p = 0.029, and left leg BMD, r = -0.19, p = 0.044, However, these associations were no longer significant after adjusting aoPWV for age and cardiovascular risk factors.

CONCLUSION

Vascular stiffness and osteoporosis increase with age. Although increased vascular stiffness was associated with reduced BMD on unadjusted analysis, this relationship was no longer significant after adjustment for confounding factors. This suggests that the association between vascular stiffness and reduced BMD may reflect shared factors rather than a direct causal relationship.