Abstract: Objective：To evaluate the association between brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) among the Chinese elderly and the gender difference. Methods: We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study in a representative urban area of Beijing, China. A sample of 2 102 community elderly (848 males, and 1 254 females) aged 60 to 95 years were included in the study. MetS was defined according to the 2009 harmonizing definition. Results: The prevalence of MetS was 59.1% (50.1% in males and 65.2% in females, P<0.001). The baPWV value was between 8.2 to 45.6 (20.0±4.4) m/s, and showed an increasing trend with age (P<0.001). The partial correlation showed baPWV was positively associated with BMI (r=0.076, P=0.037), systolic blood pressure (r=0.380, P<0.001), diastolic blood pressure (r=0.276, P<0.001), triglyceride (r=0.040, P=0.046), fasting blood glucose (r=0.140, P<0.001), 2-hour post-meal blood glucose (r=0.121, P<0.001), and negatively associated with HDL-C (r=-0.128, P=0.048). There was a strong association between baPWV and prevalence of MetS and its component number in females but not in males. Compared with the lowest quartile of baPWV, the adjusted ORs were 1.22(95%CI 0.83-1.79), 1.32(95%CI 0.90-1.93), 1.46(95%CI 1.00-2.14) in males and 1.28(95%CI 0.93-1.77), 1.55(95%CI 1.12-2.16), 1.86(95%CI 1.32-2.61) in females for the second, third and top quartiles. Conclusion: The prevalence of MetS increases substantially with increasing levels of baPWV among the Chinese elderly, especially in females.

Key words: Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity, Metabolic syndrome, Cross-sectional study, Aged, Sex factors