Objective: Arterial stiffness (AS) is known to be associated with a number of clinical conditions including hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia. AS may also be associated with lifestyle and early life factors, which are greatly affected by family history. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between self-reported family history (FH) and AS.

Design and method: The study population consists of 3056 individuals (mean age 72 years, 40% men) from the population-based Malmo Diet Cancer study, Sweden. Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (c-f PWV), a marker of AS, was measured with Sphygmocor^®. Data on FH for diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular (CV) events was retrieved from a questionnaire. Using multiple regression, adjustments were made for age, sex, mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) in Model 1, and in Model 2 further adjustment made for diagnosed diabetes or hypertension, respectively.

Results: In an unadjusted model AS was associated with a FH of diabetes and CV events. These associations were significant after adjustment in Model 1 and Model 2.

Conclusion: The results indicate associations between AS and FH of both diabetes and CV-events. This shows that FH is a relevant marker of vascular ageing. There was no clear association between AS and FH for hypertension which could be explained by a lack of knowledge regarding this diagnosis even in close relatives. The associations between AS and FH will be compared to those of AS and Genetic Risk Scores (GRS) for diabetes and hypertension in ongoing analysis.