The levels of hemoglobin are positively associated with arterial stiffness in community-dwelling Chinese adults

Background and aims: Hemoglobin (Hb) concentrations are known to be related to cardiovascular diseases. This study investigated the association between Hb levels and arterial stiffness, as assessed by measurement of the brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV). Methods and results: 3576 adults (2139 males and 1437 females) from the general Chinese population who had their physical check-ups in the health examination centers of Jiangmen Central Hospital were enrolled into the study. The anthropometrics and laboratory data as well as the baPWV and Hb levels were subsequently obtained. Age-adjusted partial correlation and multivariable stepwise linear regression analyses were used to evaluate the relationships between Hb and baPWV for men and women separately. In both sexes, Hb levels were positively associated with body mass index, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, glutamic-pyruvic transaminase, g-glutamyltranspeptidase, uric acid and baPWV, but negatively correlated with the estimated glomerular filtration rate. Multivariable linear regression analysis showed that Hb was significantly and independently associated with arterial stiffness in men (b = 0.043, 95% CI 0.010-0.077, p < 0.05) and women (b = 0.035, 95% CI 0.001-0.069, P < 0.05), after adjustment for confounding factors. Conclusion: The data indicate that high Hb concentration significantly correlate with increased baPWV in general Chinese population. (c) 2021 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of The Italian Diabetes Society, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University.