Abstract 18888: Frailty is Associated With Increased Arterial Stiffness in Older Community-Dwelling Adults in the Framingham Heart Study

Introduction: Frailty, an aging syndrome indicating increased vulnerability to stress, is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Underlying mechanisms to explain the connection between frailty and CVD are needed. We sought to examine the association between frailty and arterial stiffness, a precursor to hypertension and CVD. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of community-dwelling Framingham Heart Study Offspring and Omni group 1 participants aged 60 years and older examined in 2005-2008. Frailty was defined according to the Rockwood cumulative deficit model, counting 37 possible age-related health and functional deficits summed and divided by the total. The cut off for pre-frail was >0.1, frail >0.2. Arterial stiffness was assessed using carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (CFPWV). Generalized linear regression was used to examine the association between frailty level and CFPWV (modeled as -1000 CFPWV in msec/m to reduce skewness and heteroskedasticity, then transformed back to the original scale, m/s), adjusted for age, sex, cohort, smoking, mean arterial pressure, and physical activity. Results: Of 2,171 participants (55% female, 91% white) 40% were pre-frail and 22% frail. Mean age was 67, 70, and 73 years and mean CFPWV was 10.3, 11.2, and 12.6 m/s for robust, pre-frail and frail group respectively. Corresponding adjusted least squares means were 9.9 (95% CI 9.8-10.1), 10.2 (95% CI 10.0-10.3), and 10.7 m/s (95% CI 10.4-10.9), P Conclusions: Pre-frailty and frailty were associated with evidence of higher mean arterial stiffness. Arterial stiffness may contribute to the association between frailty and CVD in community-dwelling older adults.