Arterial stiffness in black African ancestry patients with chronic kidney disease living in Cameroon.

Background: Increased aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV), a direct measure of arterial stiffness (AS) is an independent predictor of cardiovascular events (CVEs) in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. This study assessed the patterns of PWV among Cameroonian patients with CKD in whom that marker of early vascular aging has not been explored so far. Methods: We enrolled 150 Black African patients (mean age: 52 +/- 15 years, 56.7% males) with CKD in a cross-sectional study conducted at Douala General Hospital, Douala, Cameroon. Sociodemographic, anthropometric and biologic variables, blood pressure (BP) and PWV were recorded in all participants. Estimated aortic PWV was measured using a Mobil-O-Graph automatic brachial oscillometric device. Results: PWV increased with aging (P<0.0001), and PWV adjusted for age, sex, body mass index and mean arterial BP (MAP) was higher in non-dialysed (n=90) than in hemodialysed (n=60) patients, even in predialysis: 8.5 +/- 2.0 vs. 7.9 +/- 1.4 m/s (P=0.026); and in post-dialysis: 8.5 +/- 2.0 vs. 7.8 +/- 1.5 m/s (P=0.008). The mean PWV of all study participants was 8.2 +/- 1.8 m/s, with 61.3% of patients having a PWV >= 8.2 m/s, indicative of subclinical damage to the aorta, which was more pronounced in non-dialysis (67.8%) than in hemodialysis (53.3%) patients (P=0.033). Multivariable analysis performed in all participants revealed that advanced age, MAP and tobacco use were independently associated with PWV (all P<0.05). Conclusions: Our findings suggest increased AS in Cameroonian CKD non-dialyzed as compared to dialyzed patients. Slower PWV in patients on maintenance hemodialysis suggests improvement of aortic distensibility following dialysis. However, further large-scale studies are needed to confirm our findings and to improve understanding of the underlying mechanisms of arterial stiffening in black African ancestry patients with CKD.