Introduction:
Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is an important cardiovascular disease in older adults and rupture of an AAA is associated with high mortality. Although traditional cardiovascular risk factors have been associated with the risk of AAA, their importance in the etiology of AAA is not well established, partly due to limited data for asymptomatic AAA from large prospective studies with a long follow up. The objective of this study was to prospectively assess the association between mid-life atherosclerotic disease risk factors and later-life asymptomatic AAA in the ARIC Study, a large, community-based cohort.
Methods:
Risk factors were measured at baseline, at 45-64 years of age, in 1987-1989. Abdominal aortic ultrasound was conducted in 2011-2013. Ultrasound images with maximal infrarenal abdominal aortic diameter (IAD) ≥ 28 mm were over-read by radiologists. Diagnosis of asymptomatic AAA was made in the over-reading based on IAD ≥ 30 mm. Participants who had a history of repair for abdominal aorta or were identified as clinical AAAs via previous hospital discharge diagnoses were excluded. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate the association of baseline risk factors with AAA risk.
Results:
A total of 113 asymptomatic AAAs were ascertained in 5,904 participants (78% whites) who had an abdominal ultrasound exam (prevalence=1.9%). Age, male gender, white race, smoking, height, total, HDL, and LDL cholesterols, triglycerides, white blood cell count, and fibrinogen were risk factors for asymptomatic AAA (Table). BMI, diabetes, alcohol consumption, hypertension, and peripheral artery disease were not associated with AAA. In multivariable adjustment that included the significant risk factors, age, smoking, height, LDL or total cholesterol, white blood cell count, and fibrinogen remained independently associated with AAA risk (p<0.05).
Conclusions:
Several lifestyle and clinical variables measured in middle-age were associated with risk of asymptomatic AAA during a long follow up.
IP053. White Blood Cell Count Independently Predicts Adverse Events Following Endovascular Aneurysm Repair for Intact Infrarenal Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
