Pepsinogen ratio and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity: a cross-sectional study on their interrelationship in atherosclerosis

BACKGROUND: Existing research has established the pepsinogen ratio (PGR) as a complex biomarker, not only as an independent predictor for various gastrointestinal diseases but also in its association with atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. However, the precise mechanism linking changes in PGR to cardiovascular pathologies remains unclear. The objective of this study is to quantitatively elucidate the association between PGR and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) as an indicator of atherosclerotic progression. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study that analyzed clinical data from 465 patients who underwent health screenings. One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) identified potential risk factors affecting baPWV. Multiple logistic regression was employed to evaluate if PGR serves as an independent risk factor for elevated baPWV after accounting for these variables. Generalized additive models and smoothed curve fitting were utilized to investigate the possibility of a nonlinear association between PGR and baPWV. When such nonlinearity was found, threshold effect analysis pinpointed the inflection point in this relationship, followed by segmented correlation analyses. RESULTS: PGR negatively correlated with both right baPWV (RbaPWV) and left baPWV (LbaPWV) after adjusting for confounders. Smoothed curve analyses revealed nonlinear relationships, with inflection points at 22.5 for RbaPWV and 22.3 for LbaPWV. For PGR values below 22.5, a significant negative correlation with RbaPWV was observed (β = − 6.3 cm/s, P < 0.001). Conversely, for PGR values above 22.5, no significant linear relationship was found (P = 0.141). Similarly, when PGR was below 22.3, a strong negative correlation with LbaPWV was detected (β = − 7.0 cm/s, P < 0.001), but such correlation was absent for higher PGR levels (P = 0.273). CONCLUSION: The study reveals that PGR is associated with RbaPWV and LbaPWV in a nonlinear manner. Specifically, lower levels of PGR were linearly and inversely correlated with baPWV, but this relationship became nonlinear at higher PGR levels. These findings suggest that modulating PGR levels may offer a therapeutic strategy for managing atherosclerosis. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12872-023-03618-9.