Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity is associated with the risk of osteoporosis: a cross-sectional evidence from a Chinese community-based cohort

BACKGROUND: Association of arterial stiffness and osteoporosis has been well documented in elderly population. However, it is not clear whether they co-progress from the early stages through common mechanisms. The object of this study was to evaluate possible associations between arterial stiffness and osteoporosis by measuring brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and the Osteoporosis Self-Assessment Tool for Asia (OSTA) index among a healthy population of Chinese aged 40 years and older. Whether baPWV can be used as a predictor of osteoporosis on OSTA was further assessed. METHODS: This study was cross-sectional in design. Of 3984 adults aged 40 years and older in the Yunyan district of Guiyang (Guizhou, China) who underwent both OSTA and baPWV measurements within 1 month, 1407 were deemed eligible for inclusion (women, 1088; men, 319). RESULTS: The mean baPWV was 1475 ± 302 cm/s (range,766–3459 cm/s). baPWV in 110 individuals with high risk of osteoporosis (OSTA index < − 4) was higher than that of individuals with non-high risk (1733 ± 461 cm/s vs. 1447 ± 304 cm/s, P < 0.001). OSTA index was negatively correlated with baPWV(ρ = − 0.296, P < 0.001) after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, waist circumference, diastolic blood pressure, and creatinine clearance rate. baPWV was an independent predictor for the presence of high risk of osteoporosis (β = − 0.001, P < 0.001) and was consistent across age and sex subgroups, and the optimal baPWV cutoff value for predicting the presence of high risk of osteoporosis and fracture was 1693 cm/s. The AUC was 0.722 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.667–0.777; P < 0.001, sensitivity of 52.8% and specificity of 83.6%). CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that arterial stiffness measured by baPWV is well correlated with the severity of osteoporosis evaluated by OSTA. baPWV index may be a valuable tool for identifying individuals with risk of developing osteoporosis. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13018-020-02125-3.