{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]],"date-time":"2026-10-07T06:52:47Z","timestamp":1791355967719,"version":"4.3.1"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)","issue":"19","content-domain":{"domain":["www.ahajournals.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["JAHA"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,6]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec xml:lang=\"en\">\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p xml:lang=\"en\">Inflammation is a well\u2010known driver of cardiovascular disease, but its role in the progression of arterial stiffness remains incompletely defined.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec xml:lang=\"en\">\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p xml:lang=\"en\">Individuals undergoing brachial\u2010ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) measurements as part of a generalized health examination were identified from a multicenter registry. Cross\u2010sectional and longitudinal associations of white blood cell (WBC) counts and hsCRP (high\u2010sensitivity C\u2010reactive protein) with baPWV were evaluated using multivariable regression models. The association between WBC counts and all\u2010cause mortality was assessed using multivariable Cox regression, and mediation analysis using a counterfactual framework quantified the indirect effect of WBC counts through baPWV.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec xml:lang=\"en\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p xml:lang=\"en\">\n                      A total of 9517 individuals (median age 52\u2009years, 74.5% men) were included. Both WBC counts and hsCRP were positively associated with higher baPWV (both\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"no\">P<\/jats:italic>\n                      &lt;0.001). Among 2347 participants with follow\u2010up measurements (median interval 2.4\u2009years), WBC counts were independently associated with faster baPWV progression (adjusted \u03b2\u2010coefficient per 10\n                      <jats:sup>9<\/jats:sup>\n                      \/L, 2.59; 95% CI, 1.38\u20133.76;\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"no\">P<\/jats:italic>\n                      &lt;0.001), whereas hsCRP had a borderline association with baPWV progression (\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"no\">P<\/jats:italic>\n                      =0.047) which was attenuated after adjustment for WBC counts (\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"no\">P<\/jats:italic>\n                      =0.284). During a median follow\u2010up of 3.7\u2009years, higher WBC counts were significantly associated with increased all\u2010cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.180; 95% CI, 1.009\u20131.380;\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"no\">P<\/jats:italic>\n                      =0.038). Mediation analysis indicated that 7.9% (95% CI, 0.2\u201315.7%;\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"no\">P<\/jats:italic>\n                      =0.043) of this association was explained by higher baPWV.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec xml:lang=\"en\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p xml:lang=\"en\">Higher WBC counts are associated with greater arterial stiffness measured by baPWV, and a modest proportion of the mortality risk related to elevated WBC counts appears to be mediated through increased arterial stiffness.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1161\/jaha.126.049194","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,25]],"date-time":"2026-09-25T04:40:37Z","timestamp":1790311237000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1161\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Role of Inflammatory Markers in the Progression of Arterial Stiffness and Mortality: A Multicenter Longitudinal Cohort Study"],"prefix":"10.1161","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7356-0020","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kyung An","family":"Kim","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Incheon St. Mary\u2019s Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea","place":["Incheon, Republic of Korea"]},{"name":"Catholic Research Institute for Intractable Cardiovascular Disease, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea","place":["Seoul, Republic of Korea"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5102-9212","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hae\u2010Ok","family":"Jung","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea","place":["Seoul, Republic of Korea"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-8525-9547","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"So\u2010Young","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Catholic Research Institute for Intractable Cardiovascular Disease, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea","place":["Seoul, Republic of Korea"]},{"name":"Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea","place":["Seoul, Republic of Korea"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-3856-3907","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dong\u2010Hyeon","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Health Promotion Center, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea","place":["Seoul, Republic of Korea"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1491-3612","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Donghee","family":"Han","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Smidt Heart Institute, Cedars\u2010Sinai Medical Center","place":["Los Angeles, USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9977-4740","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Su\u2010Yeon","family":"Choi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Seoul National University Hospital Healthcare System Gangnam Center","place":["Seoul, Republic of Korea"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1006-5727","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jidong","family":"Sung","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center","place":["Seoul, Republic of Korea"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1041-8035","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Eun Ju","family":"Chun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Seoul National University Bundang Hospital","place":["Seongnam, Republic of Korea"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6139-7545","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hyuk\u2010Jae","family":"Chang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Yonsei Cardiovascular Center, Yonsei University Health System","place":["Seoul, Republic of 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