The process of arteriosclerosis begins early in life, and cardiovascular risk factors identified in childhood tend to persist into adulthood. Cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), a recent parameter of arterial stiffness, is considered an independent predictor of cardiovascular risk. However, there are no studies reporting sex- and age-specific physiological values of CAVI in childhood. We aimed to establish reference values for CAVI and its blood pressure–corrected variant (CAVI₀) in 500 healthy children and adolescents aged 7 to 19 years and to study potential relationships with anthropometric indices. Sex- and age-specific distributions of CAVI and CAVI₀ values in healthy children and adolescents are presented. Boys aged 15–19 years had lower CAVI than girls, which could result from CAVI's slight blood pressure dependence. CAVI₀ did not show such sex difference. Body roundness index—a novel parameter to quantify abdominal fat—was a strong anthropometric predictor of both CAVI and CAVI₀. This is the first study providing pediatric age- and sex-specific reference values for arterial stiffness parameters CAVI and CAVI₀. The presented data can contribute to the understanding of the evolution of these indices during childhood and adolescence. Under specific conditions, CAVI₀ may offer more robust information about arterial stiffness than standard CAVI.

动脉硬化的过程始于生命的早期，童年时期发现的心血管危险因素往往持续到成年。心踝血管指数（CAVI）是动脉僵硬度的最新参数，被认为是心血管风险的独立预测因子。但是，尚无研究报道儿童期CAVI的性别和年龄特定的生理价值。我们旨在为500名7至19岁的健康儿童和青少年建立CAVI及其血压校正变量（CAVI ₀）的参考值，并研究与人体测量指标的潜在关系。CAVI和CAVI的性别和年龄特定分布₀给出了健康儿童和青少年的价值观。15-19岁的男孩比女孩的CAVI更低，这可能是由于CAVI对血压的轻微依赖所致。CAVI ₀没有显示出这种性别差异。人体圆度指数（一种量化腹部脂肪的新参数）是CAVI和CAVI ₀的强人体测量指标。这是第一项针对小儿年龄和性别的动脉僵硬度参数CAVI和CAVI ₀提供参考值的研究。呈现的数据可有助于理解这些指数在童年和青春期的演变。在特定条件下，与标准CAVI相比，CAVI ₀可能提供有关动脉僵硬度的更可靠的信息。