Effects of body weight reduction on cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI)

Objective: Obesity is associated with type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia and hypertension, contributing to atherogenesis. Weight reduction is the fundamental therapy for obesity. Recently, a novel arterial stiffness parameter called cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) has been developed. We hypothesized that CAVI may be a candidate marker of increased vascular stiffness in obese patients. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of weight reduction on CAVI. Subjects and methods: Using CAVI as an indicator, we assessed the changes in arterial stiffness in 47 obese Japanese subjects (aged 46 +/- 13 years) who underwent a 12-week weight reduction program consisting of a calorie restriction diet (20-25 kcal/day) and exercise therapy. Visceral fat area (VFA) was evaluated by CT. Results: At baseline, CAVI correlated positively with age (r = 0.70), blood pressure (r = 0.23), VFA (r = 0.26) and HbA1c (r = 0.39). After 12 weeks of weight reduction, mean BMI decreased from 33.3 +/- 7.5 to 30.7 +/- 6.4 kg/m(2) (p < 0.0001), and mean CAVI decreased from 8.3 to 7.9 (p < 0.01). The change in VFA correlated positively with change in CAVI in subjects with decrease in CAVI (r = 0.47). Furthermore, change in VFA was a significant independent predictor for change in CAVI. No significant correlation was observed between change in CAVI and clinical variables such as BMI, HbA1c and lipids. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that CAVI decreased after weight reduction, and was associated with a decrease in VFA. CAVI reduction maybe a marker of improved vascular stiffness after weight reduction in subjects with visceral adiposity. (C) 2011 Asian Oceanian Association for the Study of Obesity. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.