Background

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is associated with abnormalities in biomarkers of cardiovascular risk. Arterial stiffness, as measured by pulse-wave velocity (PWV), is also a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The aims of this study were to determine the stiffness of the aorta in female adolescents with AN and to determine if either the severity or the type of AN was associated with PWV.

Methods

This was a retrospective case-control study. Adolescent patients with a clinical diagnosis of AN were included. Aortic diameter and pulse-wave transit time over a portion of the thoracic aorta were measured using Doppler echocardiography, and PWV was calculated.

Results

There were 94 female patients with AN and 60 adolescent female control subjects. There was no significant difference in age between patients with AN and control subjects (15.5 ± 1.7 vs 15.1 ± 2.6 years, P = .220). Body mass index (16.0 ± 2.4 vs 19.7 ± 2.7 kg/m², P < .001) and body mass index percentile (9.4 ± 15.6 vs 45.5 ± 26.2, P < .001) were significantly lower for patients with AN than control subjects. PWV (443 ± 106 vs 383 ± 77 cm/sec, P < .001) was significantly higher in patients with AN than control subjects. Similar differences from control subjects were found in patients with AN with both lower and higher body mass index percentiles and also in patients with AN with the restrictive or the binge-purge subtype.

Conclusions

Female adolescents with AN have increased aortic stiffness compared with control subjects. This study suggests that patients with AN may be at increased risk for future cardiovascular disease. Future studies are required to determine the reversibility of these changes with weight restoration.

中文翻译：

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多普勒超声心动图评估女性青少年神经性厌食症的主动脉僵硬度

背景

神经性厌食症（AN）与心血管风险的生物标志物异常有关。用脉搏波速度（PWV）测量的动脉僵硬度也是心血管疾病的危险因素。这项研究的目的是确定患有AN的女性青少年主动脉的刚度，并确定AN的严重程度或类型是否与PWV相关。

方法

这是一项回顾性病例对照研究。纳入临床诊断为AN的青春期患者。使用多普勒超声心动图测量部分胸主动脉的主动脉直径和脉搏波传播时间，并计算PWV。

结果

有94例AN患者和60例青春期女性对照者。患有AN的患者与对照组之间的年龄没有显着差异（15.5±1.7 vs 15.1±2.6岁，P  = .220）。 AN患者的体重指数（16.0±2.4 vs 19.7±2.7 kg / m ²，P  <.001）和体重指数百分位数（9.4±15.6 vs 45.5±26.2，P <.001）显着低于对照组。PWV（443±106与383±77 cm / sec，P <.001）在AN患者中显着高于对照组。在具有较低和较高体重指数百分位数的AN患者以及具有限制性或暴饮暴食亚型的AN患者中也发现了与对照受试者相似的差异。

结论

与对照组相比，患有AN的女性青少年的主动脉僵硬度增加。这项研究表明，AN患者未来患心血管疾病的风险可能更高。需要进一步的研究来确定这些变化与体重恢复的可逆性。