P99 STUDY ON THE PREVALENCE AND DETERMINANTS OF EARLY VASCULAR AGEING IN A COMMUNITY PHARMACY SETTING – PRELIMINARY RESULTS: FROM THE ASINPHAR@2ACTION (ARTERIAL STIFFNESS IN THE PHARMACIES TO (2) ACTION) PROJECT

Abstract

Objective: The ASINPHAR@2action programme aims at raising awareness to early vascular ageing (EVA) through a community-based intervention. This preliminary analysis is focused on the analysis of the proportion of participants with abnormal arterial stiffness (AS) and the definition of its main determinants. Design and method: This preliminary analysis is a cross-sectional, observational, descriptive, non-interventional study of participants enrolled in 11 communal pharmacies in Portugal (HOLON pharmacies), between April and November 2017. Blood pressure (BP) and arterial function parameters were measured with a non-invasive validated device (MOBIL-O-GRAPH, IEM®). Clinical and demographic information was gathered. Results: Participants recruited for the project account for 658, 65.7% women, with a mean age of 57.34 ± 16.26 years (range: 20–96 years). Brachial BP was 126.60 ± 16.43 mmHg and 79.89 ± 11.54 mmHg, and central BP was 115.80 ± 15.35 mmHg and 81.18 ± 11.60 mmHg, respectively for systolic and diastolic BP. Mean pulse wave velocity (PWV) was 8.45 ± 2.28 m/s. The proportion of participants with increased PWV was 19,9%. Participants with increased PWV were significantly older and had higher brachial and central BP and BMI. Multivariate linear regression indicated age, Gender, BP and abdominal fat as independent determinants of PWV. AS trajectories were significantly different as a function of arterial hypertension and cardiovascular risk classification (figure 1). Conclusions: The preliminary results of this pioneering large scale study measuring arterial function in communal pharmacies provides the grounds for the operationalization of subclinical target organ damage screening in pharmacies, as a strategy to improve cardiovascular risk monitoring and to promote adherence to treatment.