A new method of arterial stiffness measurement in pseudoexfoliation syndrome: cardio-ankle vascular index

Purpose: To investigate whether pseudoexfoliation syndrome affects arterial stiffness by using cardio- ankle vascular index measurement. Methods: This cross-sectional case-control study included 55 patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome and 106 age- and gender-matched healthy control subjects. All subjects underwent a complete ophthalmic exa-mination of both eyes and cardio-ankle vascular index measu-rements. Echocardiographic and body mass index measurements were performed in all patients, and the results were recorded. A binary regression model was used to determine the relationship between cardio-ankle vascular index and pseudoexfoliation. Results: There were no significant differences between the pseudoexfoliation and control groups in baseline clinical and demographic characteristics, echocardiographic measurements of left ventricular ejection fraction, and body mass index. The mean cardio- ankle vascular index value was significantly higher in the pseudoexfoliation group than in the controls (9.47 +/- 1.23 vs. 8.33 +/- 1.50, p< 0.001). Intraocular pressure was significantly higher in the pseudoexfoliation group than in the controls (18.31 +/- 1.78 vs. 15.24 +/- 2.42 mm Hg, p<0.05). Although the logistic regression analysis showed that mean cardio-ankle vascular index and IOP values were positively associated with pseudoexfoliation syndrome (Odds ratios (OR) = 1.973, 95% CI, 1.051-3.706, p=0.035; OR=3.322, 95% CI = 2.000-5.520, p< 0.001, respectively), the Pearson correlation analysis revealed a borderline significant positive correlation between age and mean cardio-ankle vascular index and a significant positive correlation between dyslipidemia and intraocular pressure and mean cardio-ankle vascular index (r=0.265, p=0.050; r=0.337, p=0.012; r=0.433, p= 0.001, respectively). Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that cardio-ankle vascular index values increased in patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome.