Bone mass and vascular wall condition

Objective: to study the association of bone mineral density (BMD) with the intima-media thickness (IMT), the atherosclerotic plaques (ASP), the pulse wave velocity (PWV) and the augmentation index (AI) depending on telomere length (TL) in postmenopausal women. Materials and Methods: 107 women at the age range of 45- 82 years old were observed ambulatory and included into a cross-sectional study. The lumbar spine and hip BMD was determined using DXA (Hologic, USA). IMT and ASP were examined using duplex scanning. PWV and AI were measured using applanation tonometry (SphygmoCor). The telomere DNA in the genome was estimated by the real-time PCR. The median telomere length was 9.75 kbs. The highest tercile of telomere length distribution (≥ 10,00 kbs) was ranked as ‘the longest’, the lowest tercile (<9,50 kbs) was regarded as ‘the shortest’. Statistical analysis was performed using the software application Statistical Analysis System (USA). Results:With the increase in duration of menopause a gradual increase in the stiffness rate (PWV, AI, IMT, the presence АSР), decrease of BMDand a telomere length were observed. The maximal vascular stiffness, minimal BMD values and the shortest telomeres were found in patients with 10+ years of menopause. The risk of bone mass loss increased by 3 times in patients with values of PWV ≥10 m/sec, by more than 4 times in patients with AI ≥ 20% and the IMT >0.9mm and by 2.45 times in patients with presence of ASP in the carotid arteries as well as in the presence of the shortest telomeres. The negative correlation between IA, IMT and BMD remained valid as a result of a multivariate regression analysis performed, whereas with respect to PWV, ASP presence, telomeres and BMD such correlation was not confirmed.