Plasma homocysteine levels are independently associated with alterations of large artery stiffness in men but not in women

Objectives To investigate the associations of the plasma homocysteine levels with the alterations in arterial stiffness in a community-based cohort. The gender differences in these associations were examined. Methods We evaluated the relationship between plasma homocysteine levels to three measures of vascular function [carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (CF-PWV), carotid-ankle PWV (CA-PWV) and heart rate corrected augmentation index (AI)] in 1680 participants (mean age: 61.5 years; 709 men, 971 women) from communities of Beijing, China. Results In univariate analysis, plasma homocysteine levels was positively related to the CF-PWV (r = 0.211, P < 0.0001) and CA-PWV (r = 0.148, P < 0.0001), whereas inversely associated with AI (r = -0.052, P = 0.016). In multiple linear regression models adjusting for covariants, plasma homocysteine remained positively related to the CF-PWV (standardized beta = 0.065, P = 0.007) in total cases. When the groups of men and women were examined separately, plasma homocysteine remained positively associated with the CF-PWV (standardized beta = 0.082, P = 0.023) in men, whereas the relations between homocysteine and any of the arterial stiffness indices were not further present in women. Conclusions In Chinese population, plasma homocysteine levels are independently associated with alterations of large artery stiffness in men but not in women.