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Comment on “Does body height affect vascular function?”

Hypertension Research volume 45, pages 1091–1092 (2022)Cite this article

Structural atherosclerosis, as evaluated by carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), is an established cardiovascular risk factor. However, no associations between yearly CIMT progression and cardiovascular disease have been reported [2]. Therefore, yearly CIMT progression might not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Moreover, we found a significant inverse association between baseline structural atherosclerosis (CIMT ≥ 1.1 mm) and active arterial wall thickening (CIMT increase ≥0.01 mm/year), possibly because of a shortage of CD34-positive cells due to consumption [3, 4].

As a result of endothelial injury, the production of CD34-positive cells increases, and many CD34-positive cells differentiate into CD34-negative cells, such as macrophages, foam cells, and endothelial cells. This is the main process of endothelial repair. Aggressive endothelial repair increases CIMT. CD34-positive cells are necessary for the development of active arterial wall thickening, as reflected by CIMT [4]. However, while aggressive endothelial repair increases CIMT, aggressive endothelial repair also reduces the number of circulating CD34-positive cells due to consumption. Thus, no significant associations between CIMT and circulating CD34-positive cell count were observed.

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  1. Department of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, Osaka Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases Prevention, Osaka, Japan

    Yuji Shimizu

  2. Department of General Medicine, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan

    Yuji Shimizu

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  1. Yuji Shimizu
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Shimizu, Y. Comment on “Does body height affect vascular function?”. Hypertens Res 45, 1091–1092 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41440-022-00887-3

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