Atherosclerosis
The Utility Of Earlobe Crease For The Detection Of Sub-Clinical Atherosclerosis. La Utilidad Del Pliegue Del Lóbulo de la Oreja Para la Detección de Aterosclerosis Subclínica.
Traditionally a crease in the ear has been considered a visible marker of atherosclerosis. There is strong evidence of its association with coronary heart disease (CHD) revealed in several retrospective and prospective studies. However, the usefulness of the earlobe crease (ELC) as a marker of atherosclerotic diseases of other vascular beds, especially in the intracranial or extracranial carotid vasculature, is not clear. A non-systematic search of studies evaluating the association between ELC and atherosclerosis was performed. Observational studies that explored the association of ELC with atherosclerosis in many vascular beds were reviewed. Most studies presented methodological limitations, selection bias, and relatively small sample sizes. Discrepancies were found between studies, mainly due to the interaction of age in the association pathway. In a population cohort study, age was the main modifier of the effect of ELC with atherosclerosis in different vascular beds. The role of ELC as a marker of atherosclerosis remains unclear, at least for extra-coronary atherosclerosis.
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Arterial Stiffness Is Not Independently Associated With Nighttime Sleep Duration In Community-Dwelling Older Adults. Results From The Atahualpa Project. La Rigidez Arterial no se Encuentra Asociada con la Duración del Sueño Nocturno en Adultos Añosos Que Viven en la Comunidad. Resultados del Proyecto Atahualpa.
Objectives: We aimed to assess the association between arterial stiffness and nighttime sleep duration in community-dwelling older adults living in rural Ecuador.
Methods: Aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) determinations were used to assess arterial stiffness. Nighttime sleep duration was assessed by a single question. A generalized linear model—adjusted for demographics, cardiovascular risk factors and psychological distress—was fitted to assess the independent association between the aortic PWV and nighttime sleep duration (dependent variable).
Results: A total of 303 individuals were enrolled. Univariate analysis showed a significant association between the aortic PWV and long sleep duration (p=0.034), which vanished in a multivariate linear model (p=0.524). The single covariable remaining significant was anxiety (p=0.013).
Conclusion: Lack of independent association between arterial stiffness and nighttime sleep duration might be more likely related to lack of reliability of evaluation of sleep duration by means of a single question.
