PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Julia Dratva
AU  - Seraina Caviezel
AU  - Emmanuel Schaffner
AU  - Robert Bettschart
AU  - Nino Künzli
AU  - Arno Schmidt-Trucksaess
AU  - Daiana Stolz
AU  - Elisabeth Zemp
AU  - Nicole Probst-Hensch
TI  - Linking respiratory and vascular health in Swiss adolescents
AID  - 10.1183/13993003.congress-2015.OA2935
DP  - 2015 Sep 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - OA2935
VI  - 46
IP  - suppl 59
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/46/suppl_59/OA2935.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/46/suppl_59/OA2935.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2015 Sep 01; 46
AB  - Introduction: Asthma has been associated with cardiovascular risk in adults. Data on respiratory health impact on vascular health in youth is scarce. The SAPALDIA Youth study, offspring study of the Swiss Study on Air Pollution and Lung and Heart Disease In Adults, investigated the association between asthma status and common carotid artery intima media thickness (CIMT).Methods: 288 adolescents underwent standardized clinical protocols: anthropometry, blood pressure, ultrasound CIMT, spirometry, blood draw. Offspring and parents gave information on early life, health and lifestyle. Using mixed linear regression analyses the association between per subject averages of CIMT and doctor-diagnosed asthma was estimated, adjusting for main confounders and testing for interaction with sex and age.Results: In 251 offspring (mean age 15 yrs., 53% girls) with high quality CIMT and main covariates asthma was reported by 11.5% (boys 17%, girls 7%). Mean CIMT was 0.529 mm (sd 0.045) in boys and 0.501 in girls (sd 0.048). Overall effect was borderline (0.020mm, 95%CI -0.0025; 0.042), however, interaction was highly significant by sex (p=0.001) yielding a significant increase of ∼1 sd CIMT in asthmatic boys (0.043mm, 0.021;0.066) vs. non-asthmatics, but not in asthmatic girls (-.008mm, -0.052;-0.037).Conclusion: Our study points to a pediatric population of increased risk for early vascular change: adolescent asthmatic boys. The sex-specificity seen in this age group might relate to earlier manifestation of asthma in males. The long-term relevance remains an open question. The findings call for joint efforts of pulmonology and cardiology to further understand the link between lung and vessels to prevent vascular damage early on.