IJCS | Volume 33, Nº4, July and August 2020

353 Table 3 - Univariable and multivariable linear regression analysis with pulse wave velocity as dependent variable Univariable Multivariable* Variable β CI p-value β CI p-value Age, years 0.213 0.171; 0.255 < 0.001 - - - Gender 1.554 0.091; 3.016 0.038 - - - BMI, Kg/m 2 0.036 -0.103; 0.203 0.669 0.046 -0.044; 0.136 0.308 Brachial SBP, mmHg 0.020 0.002; 0.038 0.027 0.021 0.015; 0.028 < 0.001 Brachial DBP, mmHg 0.001 -0.045; 0.047 0.961 0.035 0.013; 0.057 0.002 Brachial MAP, mmHg 0.037 0.004; 0.075 0.031 0.043 0.031; 0.054 < 0.001 Brachial PP, mmHg 0.053 0.029; 0.076 < 0.001 0.037 0.028; 0.047 < 0.001 Heart rate, bpm -0.046 -0.111; 0.018 0.155 0.004 -0.034; 0.041 0.848 Aortic SBP, mmHg 0.037 0.010; 0.065 0.010 0.039 0.030; 0.047 < 0.001 Aortic PP, mmHg 0.082 0.045; 0.120 < 0.001 0.057 0.041; 0.072 < 0.001 AIx@75 0.053 0.001; 0.106 0.050 0.022 -0.010; 0.053 0.167 Vascular resistance 3.701 1.876; 5.526 < 0.001 2.039 1.035; 3.043 < 0.001 Total cholesterol, mg/dL 0.005 -0.015; 0.025 0.621 -0.001 -0.012; 0.010 0.801 HDL cholesterol, mg/dL -0.014 -0.106; 0.078 0.762 -0.008 -0.058; 0.041 0.731 Triglycerides, mg/dL 0.008 -0.007; 0.023 0.261 0.004 -0.005; 1.219 0.620 Glycaemia, mg/dL 0.015 0.002; 0.028 0.025 -0.001 -0.010; 0.007 0.745 Creatinine, mg/dL 3.777 0.320; 7.233 0.033 1.684 -0.268; 3.636 0.088 Microalbuminuria, mg/L 0.009 0.001; 0.018 0.071 -0.001 -0.007; 0.004 0.611 Hangrip strength, Kg/f -0.114 -0.180; -0.047 0.001 -0.049 -0.097; -0.001 0.046 MNA, score -0.071 -0.297; 0.155 0.526 -0.008 -0.128; 0.113 0.895 * adjusted for age and gender; BMI: body mass index; SBP: systolic blood pressure; DBP: diastolic blood pressure; MAP: mean arterial pressure; PP: pulse pressure; AIx@75: augmentation index corrected to heart rate; HDL: high density lipoproteins; MNA: mini nutritional assessment. Pereira & Costa Arterial stiffness in the older adult Int J Cardiovasc Sci. 2020; 33(4):349-356 Original Article of 81.8 ± 8.8 year. From these, 80%hadHT, which, per se , is an important CVD risk factor, and evenmore considering that only 64% of these hypertensive participants were under anti-hypertensive treatment. As expected, the results showed age as a strong determinant of PWV and BP, and a significant proportion of participants (28%) had abnormal AS, according to the expected values for age and gender. 5 This clearly reveals the interplay of chronological ageing with other contributing factors for the progression of AS through the lifespan, and particularly in the old and very old. 23 The dependence of AS on age relates to the decrease in arterial compliance due to a decreased ratio of elastin to collagen, resulting from an enhanced degradation of elastin and accumulation of stiffer collagen in the arterial media layer. 13,14 On the other hand, there is an intrinsic, two-sided relationship between AS and BP. Our study showed that abnormal values of PWV were significantly related with HT, and that increases in both brachial and central systolic and PPs were associated with higher PWV. The increase in the stiffness of central arteries, mostly in older individuals, also contributes to an earlier arrival of the reflected component of the pulse wave, illustrated in the univariable regression analysis with a significant association between PWV and the AIx@75. This would cause an increase in the SBP and no change, or even a decrease in DBP, paving the way to increased