Obesity has reached epidemic levels and carries a risk for @entity65 . Obesity's effects on the vascular systems of young adults and African Americans have not been well characterized. The aim of this study was to assess the association between measures of @entity28 and @entity2333 in 186 young adults (20 to 40 years, 50% African American) and 177 older adults (41 to 70 years, 33% African American). @entity2333 was measured by aortic pulse-wave velocity. The median pulse-wave velocity value was 468 cm/s for young adults and 627 cm/s for older adults (P<0.001). Higher body weight, body mass index, waist and hip circumferences, and waist-hip ratio were strongly correlated with higher pulse-wave velocity, independent of age, systolic blood pressure, race, and sex overall and among both age groups (P<0.01 for all). Even among the 20- to 30-year-olds, @entity28 individuals (body mass index>30) had a mean pulse-wave velocity value 47 cm/s higher than did nonobese individuals (P<0.001). Obesity measures were among the strongest independent predictors of pulse-wave velocity overall and for both age groups. Results were consistent by race. In conclusion, excess body weight is associated with higher @entity2333 in whites and African Americans as young as 20 to 30 years. The strength of the association, the early age at which it appears, and the prevalence of @entity28 among the young warn of substantially increased @entity65 incidence as this cohort ages.

Measures of XXXX are associated with vascular stiffness in young and older adults.

@entity2333 :: ('MESH:D001018', 'Disease') :: ['aortic stiffness', 'Aortic stiffness'] @entity65 :: ('MESH:D002318', 'Disease') :: ['cardiovascular disease'] @entity28 :: ('MESH:D009765', 'Disease') :: ['obese', 'obesity']
@entity28 :: (MESH:D009765,Disease) :: ['obesity']
