Abstract 15674: Association of Diastolic Blood Pressure and Coronary Artery Calcium Score in South Asian Adults: The MASALA Study
Meena Moorthy, Namratha Kandula, Nicola Lancki, Juned Siddique, Neela Thangada, Daichi Shimbo, Havisha Pedamallu, Alka M Kanaya, Nilay S Shah- Physiology (medical)
- Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
Background: Diastolic blood pressure (DBP) is associated with coronary artery calcium (CAC). Prior evaluation of this relationship has not included South Asian populations, who experience a disproportionate burden of cardiovascular disease.
Hypothesis: High DBP is associated with CAC independent of systolic BP in South Asian adults.
Methods: In the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America (MASALA) Study, we evaluated the cross-sectional association of sex-specific DBP quartiles and CAC≥100 with robust Poisson regression adjusted for age, sex, systolic BP, body mass index, smoking, low- and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, diabetes, lipid-lowering and hypertension (HTN) medication use. Restricted cubic splines examined the continuous association of DBP with CAC probability. Secondary analysis examined the association between baseline DBP quartile and incident CAC over median 4.7 years of follow-up.
Results: Among 1164 participants (48% female, mean age 57 years), mean (standard deviation) DBP was 74 (10) mmHg, 67% were not on HTN medications, 22% had CAC ≥100. The probability of CAC≥100 across levels of DBP is modeled in the Figure. DBP in quartiles 3 and 4 was significantly associated with CAC≥100 with adjusted prevalence ratio (PR, versus quartile 1) of 1.57 [95% CI, 1.20-2.06] and 1.50 [1.08-2.07], respectively. Among those not on HTN medication, the PR for CAC≥100 for DBP quartiles 3 and 4 was 1.98 [1.29-3.04] and 1.80 [1.00-3.24], respectively. Baseline DBP quartile was not associated with incident CAC, but those in quartile 4 had greater risk of CAC≥100 over follow-up compared to quartile 1 (RR 2.47, 1.17-5.23).
Conclusion: Among South Asian adults in MASALA, having DBP in quartiles 3 or 4 was associated with a higher probability of CAC≥100. DBP may be an important clinical risk factor when assessing cardiovascular risk among South Asian adults.